Sofia Kenin’s Australian Open win part of new American guard in women’s tennis

Sofia Kenin won her maiden slam in Melbourne, defeating Garbiñe Muguruza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, but thought about taking a break from professional tennis a few years ago.

Sofia Kenin is one of several young American women who are establishing themselves as the new wave of massive talent in women’s tennis.

Along with Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Danielle Collins, Kenin and these women play a type of ferocious, fearless tennis that has been taking everyone by storm in the majors. However, the 21-year-old Moscow-born sensation has perhaps floated under the radar while her younger American peers have gained more attention at the tournaments.

That changed on Saturday. Never having made it past the fourth round of a slam prior, Kenin managed to race past the competition to gather her first grand slam win at the Australian Open.

“I knew I needed to establish myself to get to where I am,” said Kenin afterwards, according to Yahoo! Sports. Kenin won three WTA titles last year. “All the confidence has come with all the matches that I’ve had, the success I’ve had in 2019.”

Like Gauff and Anisimova, Kenin was a child prodigy, starting out at age five in Florida, eventually training with famous coach Nick Bollettieri, having her own web site by age 9, Sonyakenin.us (“Sonya” being her nickname). Unlike Gauff and Anisimova, though, the Russian-born American didn’t achieve massive breakthroughs as a teenager, until she powered through to the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open. If she hadn’t reached past the first round of that tourney, she said she would have taken a break from professional tennis and enrolled in the University of Miami.

Kenin’s banner year was 2019, when at age 20, she won her first WTA title in Mallorca, and most impressively, beat Serena Williams to clinch a fourth round spot at the French Open.

“My dream officially came true,” Kenin said in her on court interview. “I cannot even describe this feeling. It’s so emotional, and I’ve worked so hard. I’m just so grateful to be standing here. Dreams come true, so if you have a dream, go for it, and it’s going to come true.”

In Saturday’s final, the more seasoned of the two, Garbiñe Muguruza, seemed poised to win her third grand slam championship, and surged to a first set lead. But sitting even at 2-2 in the second, Kenin found a second gear and switched up the momentum of the match.

Muguruza’s faith wilted and her serve failed her, giving the match away with a disappointing double fault on Kenin’s match point. Credit to Kenin’s powerful confidence, winners flew off her racquet as she surged to take back the match in the pivotal second set, and ultimately the championship.

During the trophy presentation, Kenin’s lack of experience showed for the first time that day.

“This is my first speech, but I’m going to try my best,” Kenin said through nervous laughter at the outset of her speech.

But Kenin also managed to bring a sophisticated glass of champagne into her press confidence afterwards.

https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1223589150626131968

With Bianca Andreescu’s meteoric rise last year, and Naomi Osaka’s back-to-back slam wins at the 2018 U.S. Open and last year down under, it’s clear that the changing of the guard in women’s tennis is a youth movement. The new crop of names such as Kenin, Andreescu, Osaka, Gauff, and Anisimova are extremely exciting for women’s tennis.

The Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem takes place 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Will the changing of the guard seep into the men’s game as well? We’ll know tomorrow.