Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Pines’ Sofia Kenin climbs rankings quickly.
Sofia Kenin out to continue rankings surge at Aussie Open
Accolades have come quickly for Pembroke Pines’ Sofia Kenin, with her leap into professional tennis.
But as Alex Kenin, her coach and father, points out there has been nothing rapid about her ascension from prodigy to going toe-to-toe with top players on the women’s tour.
Kenin, preparing for her debut in the main draw of the Australian Open, which begins Monday in Melbourne, has been working toward this objective since first picking up her father’s racket when she was 5.
“It’s not quickly. It’s been a long time,” Alex Kenin said this week by phone from Australia. “I think it’s logical where she is now.”
Where the 19-year-old stands, four months into her pro career, is No. 104 in the WTA rankings, four spots closer to breaking into the top 100 since an impressive showing last week at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Kenin, a wild-card entry, won two matches and took the first set off top seed Caroline Wozniacki, ranked No. 2 in the world. It took Wozniacki nearly 2½ hours to emerge from the quarterfinal with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
The performance validated what Karl Budge, director of the Classic, said when the wild card was extended to provide the opportunity for Kenin to use the Auckland event as a career springboard, as fellow Broward County product Sloane Stephens and others have done.
“We think there is a lot of potential in Sofia also,” Budge said in late December. “She is a counterpuncher who has proven already she can win at the highest level. She has had some great wins this year, and her match with Sharapova at the U.S. Open showed a lot of promise.”
“Playing at the U.S. Open ... It proved to herself that she can.” Alex Kenin, Sofia’s father and coach, on her learning she could compete at the highest level.
That third-round loss to her idol proved to be a big win and career turning point for Kenin, who like Sharapova was born in Russia but raised in Florida from an early age.
In winning her first two Grand Slam matches in New York and extending Sharapova for nearly two hours before losing 7-5, 6-2, Kenin earned the vote of tennis fans as the WTA's Breakthrough of the Month for August.
More significantly, the chance to cash a $140,000 check for reaching the third round of the Open expedited her decision to turn pro.
“Playing at the U.S. Open put like a cornerstone, a foundation on her being sure that she can compete at that level,” Alex Kenin said. “It proved to herself that she can.”
Kenin, who sometimes likes to go by her nickname “Sonya” instead of Sofia, saw her ranking rise nearly 100 spots during 2017. She reached the semifinals of her final three tournaments of the year.
Now she has graduated from wild-card entry at the U.S. Open to selection in the main draw of the Australian Open, the first major of the year.
But as Alex Kenin pointed out, it’s all part of a gradual progression with a long way to go.
Kenin got her start in junior tennis under Rick Macci and has trained with other notable coaches such as Nick Bolletierri and Richard Lansdorp.
She won the prestigious Orange Bowl junior title in 2014 in Plantation, was a Junior U.S. Open finalist in 2015 and won the USTA 18s title at age 16.
After their match at the U.S. Open, Sharapova said: “She’s a grinder. She’ll get many balls back. Despite not having the experience, she’s a tough player.”
Kenin showed those attributes again in taking the first set and giving Wozniacki her toughest match on the way to the final in New Zealand.
This week Kenin posted a photo on Instragram (@sonyakennin) of herself holding a baby kangaroo in Australia, unburdened by not having to go through qualifying to get into the Aussie field.
“She’s pretty confident. She is progressing with her game and looking forward to competing. She knows it’s not going to be easy,” Alex Kenin said, adding that through 2017, his daughter “became more aggressive. She looks very focused. She had very good matches. She competed very well.”
Challenging Stephens
Stephens, the Plantation native who pulled off a stunning victory at the U.S. Open, will be attempting to get her game back on track. Since knocking off Venus
Williams in the semifinals and winning convincingly over Boca Raton’s Madison
Keys in the U.S. Open final, Stephens has lost seven consecutive matches.
After Stephens lost Monday in Sydney in straight sets to qualifier Camila Giorgi, Broward County’s most accomplished tennis figure Chris Evert threw down a challenge for Stephens.
“I question whether she has a burning desire to win more Grand Slams or be No. 1,” Evert, an ESPN commentator, said during a conference call with tennis writers. “I don’t see it as much as I do with other players.”
Stephens, ranked 13th, appeared rusty in Sydney in her first match after a two-month layoff.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Sloane,” Evert said. “This is what happens to surprise winners; we’ve seen that. It changes your whole life. There’s more press, more appearances, she’s doing her charity work, plus she’s been injured. It’s taken a toll.”
Other South Floridians in the main draw in Australia include Keys and Lauren Davis. Stefan Kozlov, another former Orange Bowl champ from Pembroke Pines, is attempting to earn a spot in the men’s draw through qualifying. Kozlov won his secondround qualifying match Thursday against Yannick Hanfmann, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.