Twenty-year-old Sofia Kenin captured the first WTA singles title of her career Saturday, defeating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-0, in just one hour, 11 minutes in the final of the Hobart International in Australia. With the victory, she becomes the first American to win the Hobart title since Amy Frazier took home the trophy 15 years ago in 2004.
Kenin did not drop a set throughout the week and upset three seeded players en route to the championship, stunning top-seeded Caroline Garcia, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening round, No. 7 Kirsten Flipkens, 7-5, 7-5, in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4, in the semifinals.
Here's more on the up-and-coming American star, who is now at a career-high ranking of No. 37 in the world.
The Sofia Kenin File
Age: 20
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Residence: Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Current Rank: 37
Career-High Rank: 37 (January 2019)
Best US Open Finish: Third Round (2017, 2018)
The Baseline
- Kenin was contesting the first final of her career in Hobart. Her previous best results on the WTA Tour included semifinal performances last year at Quebec City in September and Mallorca in June.
- A week before claiming her first WTA singles title, the 20-year-old took home her first career WTA trophy, teaming with Eugenie Bouchard to capture the doubles championship at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
- Kenin and Schmiedlova had met one time before playing the Hobart final – at the qualifying event in New Haven last year. Kenin won that match, 7-6, 6-4.
- Kenin, who represented the U.S. in the Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic in November 2018, has reached the third round of the US Open the last two years. In 2018, she upset No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari in the second round before falling to No. 8 Karolina Pliskova in Round 3, while in 2017, she stunned No. 32 Lauren Davis in her opening match before eventually losing to Maria Sharapova in the third round.
- Kenin will open her 2019 Australian Open campaign Tuesday against No. 111-ranked Veronika Kudermetova of Russia. If she wins that match, she could meet world No. 1 Simona Halep in the second round.
- Kenin had a celebrated junior career, highlighted by winning the girls' 18s USTA National Championships in 2015 and the girls' 18s Orange Bowl in 2014, as well as reaching the singles final at the US Open in 2015. She was a member of the winning U.S. Junior Fed Cup team in 2014 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings in 2015.
They Said It!
"I feel in great form, and I’m really proud of myself. I’m so happy with my start and will try to keep the momentum going." – Kenin told wtatennis.com when discussing her start to the 2019 season.
