Kenin back in top 40 following drop to No 426 after Gauff win kickstarted form
Sofia Kenin is continuing her rise back up the rankings as she returns to the top 40 at No 31 in the world on Monday. The American had an incredible 2020, winning the Australian Open and reaching the French Open final. But she has since struggled to recreate that form and plummeted to No 426 in the world last year. After upsetting Coco Gauff at Wimbledon this summer, she has gone on to have deep runs at two big events and could well be seeded when the first Major of 2024 comes around.
Kenin has experienced the highest highs of tennis as well as some of the big lows. A former world No 4, she suffered a huge dip in form following her best-ever season and an injury in 2022 saw her sidelined for five months as she dropped outside of the world’s top 400.
A former Grand Slam champion, the 24-year-old found herself forced to play in qualifying at the French Open and Wimbledon. She lost in the opening round of qualies in Paris but hit a purple patch at the All England Club, qualifying and upsetting seventh seed Coco Gauff in her opening match before making the third round.
And Kenin has continued to plug away this summer, as she recently reached the final of the WTA 500 in San Diego and made it to the semi-final of last week’s WTA 1000 in Guadalajara. As a result, she is now up to No 31 in the rankings – her highest since January 2022.
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Following her stunning three-set victory over Gauff at Wimbledon, Kenin wasn’t immediately able to translate that form into her upcoming tournaments as she got injured and was forced to pull out of Washington. The former world No 4 reached the second round of the US Open before hitting a hot streak that has seen her win eight of her last 10 matches.
It’s an upturn that Kenin has been waiting for after a rollercoaster career so far. Aged just 21, she won the Australian Open in 2020 and defeated world No 1 Ash Barty en route. She followed it up by winning the Lyon Open before the tennis tour was shut down for the Covid pandemic.
But the American continued her run of form when tennis finally resumed later that year, making it to her second Grand Slam final at the French Open. She was named WTA Player of the Year in 2020 but couldn’t replicate her success in 2021 as she was left in tears after crashing out of the Australian Open in the second round.
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She has since mostly relied on wildcards to enter big tournaments, playing on the WTA 125 circuit and competing in an ITF event last year. Now up to No 31 in the world, Kenin will have the luxury of entering top tournaments directly again – and she could even be seeded at the Slams.
With Kenin having few points to defend before the end of the season, she is expected to rise even higher. The top 32 players get a seed at the Majors, meaning that the 2020 Australian Open champion could have that luxury when she returns to Melbourne in January.
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