On a scorching hot afternoon at the Australian Open, 21-year old Sofia Kenin stepped onto the court of Rod Laver Arena to face top-ranked Ashleigh Barty in her maiden Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
Barty, 23, knocked Kenin out of last year’s French Open and bested her in four of five previous meetings. Kenin defeated Barty in straight sets, 7-6 (6), 7-5, thwarting the Australian’s hopes of ending the country’s 42-year drought for a homegrown champion.
“I always believed I can,” said Kenin, who won the WTA’s Most Improved Player of the Year honor in 2019. “I was telling myself, ‘I believe in myself. If I lose the set, I’m still going to come out and believe.’ ”
Once a child prodigy, Kenin’s name was virtually unknown outside tennis circles until Thursday.
“I mean, yeah, I know people haven’t really paid attention much to me in the past,” said Kenin, who is the youngest woman to beat a world No. 1 at a Grand Slam since 2002.
“I had to establish myself, and I have. Of course, now I’m getting the attention, which I like it. Not going to lie.”
“She deserves that respect, and she deserves the recognition,” Barty said.
Sofia Anna “Sonya” Kenin was born in Moscow and was raised in Florida after her family emigrated to the United States. She began playing tennis at the age of 5 and garnered almost instant celebrity in the sport. By 6 years old, she was on the covers of magazines.
“I’m so speechless. I honestly can’t believe this. I’ve just dreamed about this since … that Andy Roddick video,” Kenin told Jim Courier during an on-court interview after the match.
She is referring to a famous video in which 5-year-old Kenin told reporters she could return Roddick’s serve.
She quickly rose up the USTA junior levels and was ranked No. 1 in the 12, 14, 16, and 18-and-under divisions. In 2014, she represented the United States at the Summer Youth Olympics.
Kenin bypassed a scholarship to play tennis at the University of Miami and instead turned pro in 2017. She advanced to the third round of the US Open three years in a row, defeating Maria Sharapova in 2017, but the best result in her prior 11 main-draw Grand Slam appearances was a fourth-round loss at the 2019 French Open to eventual champ Barty. Kenin upset Serena Williams in the third round at Roland Garros.
“She just played literally unbelievable,” Williams said of Kenin after the match. “She just really went out there today and did great.”
With Thursday’s win, Kenin is expected to break into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time in her career. She advances to her first Grand Slam final to face Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza, 26, to be played on Saturday (3:30 a.m. EST). Muguruza, a former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champ, topped Simona Halep 7-6 (8), 7-5 in another semifinal upset.
