By Scoop Malinowski
In 2020 Sofia Kenin beat Garbine Muguruza to win her first Grand Slam title at Australian Open. She also made the finals of Roland Garros vs Iga Swiatek and reached a top five ranking. Then came the nosedive.
Today the 23 year old Kenin is ranked no. 416 and has accepted (or asked for) a wild card into the Citi Open. She hasn’t played a match in four months except for an exhibition last week in Atlanta, a 61 62 loss to Coco Gauff.
The comeback of Kenin will be a first-round match today against Camila Osorio. When Kenin takes the court vs Osorio it will be her first official WTA Tour match in 146 days.
Since her stunning 2020 season, Kenin has been ordinary. Her match record over the last two years is 13-16. Earlier this year Kenin posted a 2-6 match record.
Now Kenin has had time to prepare her mind and get her body right to try to regain the form and results which elevated her to superstar status, even if the big Osaka and Emma endorsements and fortunes never came knocking on her door.
Kenin will play Washington DC, Toronto, Cincinnati and if necessary, Cleveland (for match play) before the US Open.
Kenin says she has no doubt she can add a second Grand Slam to her trophy mantle. “Definitely, definitely I believe. That’s never changed. I just need to get there. Right now everything is a hundred percent. I’m doing what I can from my side. It should come.”
AO · Babolat · Citi Open · Sofia Kenin
Scoop Malinowski · August 2, 2022 at 10:06 pm
Kenin’s losing woes continue. She lost 76 61 to Osorio. Raducanu handled Chirico the qualifier 64 62. Osaka in a war with Quinwen Zheng in CA.
Scoop Malinowski · August 2, 2022 at 10:07 pm
Barty just got married, no mention of it on wta site.
catherine · August 3, 2022 at 2:35 am
There were plenty of mentions, and pics, of Barty’s wedding elsewhere. The WTA site seems to focus on results in tournaments at present, as well as puffing Cori Gauff at every opportunity.
Naomi won and seems happier with her father back. She mentioned ‘dark thoughts’ she has sometimes and her father knows how to fix. Fisette was not right for her. Naomi’s not ambitious in his way.
Emma looked ok – quite relaxed although tougher times ahead.
Scoop Malinowski · August 3, 2022 at 7:56 am
Osaka clearly got dumped by Fissette and she is doing damage control, maybe it will be the real spark she really needs because he’s a major underachiever right now with Bibi and Kenin. Muruguza has lost her confidence. Expecting to see a lot of easy Coco wins coming, like how Kalinina rolled over.
catherine · August 3, 2022 at 10:06 am
Muguruza is a puzzle – it’s as though she really has lost interest in the game, in which case it would be best if she retire or take a long break.
I think Bianca is finished. Naturally I hope I’m wrong but it’s the feeling I get, watching her play now and remembering how she was in 2019. The wheels have come off.
My view – women’s tennis is going through a bit of a dip. Maybe a combination of outside influences and just coincidence – very young players, injuries etc.
Yes – I’m pretty sure Fisette dumped Naomi, same as Johanna Konta and Angie. Maybe should switch to ATP.
Scoop Malinowski · August 3, 2022 at 11:05 am
Catherine, I think the wta has a very bad culture. One former top ten WTA player told me flat out, “The wta is a despicable organization.” I think there may be some awful agendas pushed by the wta and some players just get sick of it and rebel in different ways. Barty retired. Players like Pliskova, Murugurza, Bibi, Sloane, etc don’t seem to care. You can feel the favoritism for Gauff and Osaka. While great players and champions like Kenin and Rybakina are snubbed or ignored because they don’t fit the agenda narrative. Barty just got married and the wta didn’t mention it. Bet they would have celebrated it if she married a female. The wta is a disappointment. It would be so nice if they treated all players EQUALLY.