Sofia Kenin gets big win in Mallorca, leading the new guard of young American tennis contenders

Sofia Kenin displayed nerves of steel to take the Mallorcan final match away from Belinda Bencic, 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4. It’s a breakthrough win the week before Wimbledon, establishing her as another red-hot contender at the grass slam.

Serena Williams has been the face of women’s tennis for two decades now. But in the French Open third round, Sofia Kenin (who goes by the name Sonya) put her name on the tennis radar with a breakthrough win over the most celebrated star in the WTA. At just age 20, Kenin has now won her second WTA title, with a brilliant come-from-behind victory over Belinda Bencic in three hard-fought sets.

At a young age, she has displayed a maturity beyond her years since the start of the 2019 tennis calendar. She clinched her first WTA title at the Hobart International hard court event at the beginning of the year, and followed up with a finalist appearance at the Mexicon Open a few months afterwards. The Roland Garros win over Serena Williams catapulted Kenin into her best grand slam showing, the fourth round, where she lost to the French Open winner Ashleigh Barty. The win in Mallorca is her first grass trophy and puts her in excellent form heading into Wimbledon.

The win over third seed Belinda Bencic is another significant Top 20 player the young American has defeated this year. Along the way to her second WTA title, Kenin defeated fourth seed Elise Mertens, second seed Anastasija Sevastova, and world No. 17 Madison Keys, and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka earlier this year.

Sonya Kenin demonstrated strong mental fortitude to take back the match from Bencic, who sat with triple championship point at 5-4 in the second. Bencic failed to close out the win, letting a double fault shift the dynamic back to the 20-year-old. On a day when her compatriot Roger Federer achieved his 102nd ATP title, his Hopman Cup partner Bencic seemed to let the emotional pressure get to her, reduced to tears of frustration in the middle of the match. Kenin capitalized on her opportunity and pounced to come back and seize the momentum from the 22-year-old Swiss in the almost three-hour, riveting bout.

“With [Bencic], you have to fight every point, and I’m just really happy with this title. It just means a lot to me,” said Kenin afterwards.

The Russian-born, Florida resident Kenin’s confidence produced twice as many winners as her opponent: 48 compared with Bencic’s 28.

“Hard work, for sure, is paying off big time,” said Kenin.

If men’s tennis remains a 30 something club, youth is making significant strides in women’s tennis.

Kenin is part of a new guard of American women making huge inroads in women’s tennis, including French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova, 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens, her US Open finalist Madison Keys, and this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Danielle Collins. Sofia Kenin displayed the fight that helped the U.S. progress to the final at last year’s Fed Cup.

“I’m playing really well, fighting for every point and taking as much advantage as I can,” Kenin expressed.

Kenin’s win in Mallorca capped off a thrilling day of tennis that included Federer’s landmark 10th (and 102nd ATP title) Halle crown, another 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez (a wildcard entry) winning his second Queen’s Club against all odds, Ashleigh Barty‘s Birmingham trophy that culminated in her becoming the new world No. 1, and Andy Murray’s return on grass with a doubles win at Queen’s Club (with Lopez, winning both titles!). Suffice it to say there was a lot of movement in the tennis world the Sunday before Wimbledon starts.

Like Barty, Sonya Kenin isn’t resting on her laurels and is heading straight to the next grass warm-up event before Wimbledon, Eastbourne, which starts Monday, June 24. Wimbledon begins July 1. Stay tuned here for all the news on the road leading to Wimbledon.