_05_(edited_and_cropped).jpg) Kenin at the2025 Washington Open | |
| Full name | Sofia Anna Kenin |
|---|---|
| Native name | София Александровна Кенинa Sofia Aleksandrovna Kenina |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Residence | Pembroke Pines, Florida, US |
| Born | (1998-11-14)November 14, 1998 (age 27) Moscow, Russia |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Turned pro | 5 September 2017 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Alex Kenin, Michael Joyce (2023) |
| Prize money | US$ 11,669,924 |
| Official website | sonyakenin.com |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 301–209 |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (March 9, 2020) |
| Current ranking | No. 25 (October 20, 2025) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (2020) |
| French Open | F (2020) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2023) |
| US Open | 4R (2020) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | RR (2019) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 107–98 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 21 (January 27, 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 37 (October 20, 2025) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2020,2026) |
| French Open | QF (2020) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2025) |
| US Open | 3R (2024) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | F (2018), record 4–5 |
| Last updated on: 21 October 2025. | |
Sofia Anna "Sonya"Kenin[1] (born November 14, 1998) is an American professionaltennis player. She has beenranked as high as world No. 4 in singles by theWTA, and No. 21 in doubles. Kenin was named the 2020WTA Player of the Year, an award earned by winning theAustralian Open and finishing runner-up at theFrench Open. She has won five singles and four doubles titles on theWTA Tour, the latter including the2019 China Open and2024 Miami Open partneringBethanie Mattek-Sands.
Coached primarily by her father, Kenin developed into a promising junior player, reaching No. 2 in the world after winning theOrange Bowl at the age of 16 and finishing runner-up in the2015 US Open girls' singles event the following year. She also won theUSTA Girls 18s National Championship during that summer. Kenin made her debut in the top 100 of the WTA rankings in 2018 as a teenager. She won her first three titles in 2019 and finished the year just outside the top 10, being named theWTA Most Improved Player of the Year. With her title at the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin became American No. 1 and the youngest American to win aGrand Slam women's singles title sinceSerena Williams in 1999.
Sofia Kenin was born inMoscow, Russia, to Alexander and Svetlana Kenin. Kenin is Jewish, and was born in a Jewish family, and has a younger sister.[2][3] Her family moved to the United States a few months after she was born. They had previously left theSoviet Union to live in New York City in 1987 but returned to Russia for Kenin's birth so that other family members could help raise her initially. Her mother had worked as a nurse in the Soviet Union, and her parents had only $286 when they first moved to the United States.[4][5]
Kenin began playing tennis at the age of five, drawing inspiration from her father who had played recreationally. Her parents recognized her potential and arranged for her to begin training withRick Macci inBroward County, Florida. Macci coached Kenin for seven years until she was 12. He remarked: "Back then [when Kenin was five], I came right out and said Sofia was the scariest little creature I’d ever seen. It was unique: the hand-eye coordination and her ability to take the ball immediately right after the bounce. I have a lot of kids do that, but it was almost like it was baked in already, even though she was little and the racket was actually bigger than her. The only player I’ve seen like that is former world No. 1Martina Hingis."[4] Kenin has also worked withNick Bollettieri.[5] Her primary coach had always been her father[4] except from May 2021 to November 2021.[6][7] Her childhood tennis idols were Serena Williams andMaria Sharapova. Kenin particularly has praised Sharapova's fierce competitiveness.[8]
Kenin had success in tennis at a young age, which garnered widespread attention in the tennis community and helped put her on the covers of tennis magazines.[4] Kenin began playing inUnited States Tennis Association (USTA) girls' 10-and-under tournaments at the age of seven, and became the top-ranked player in Florida in that division. She later was ranked No. 1 in the USTA national rankings for each of the 12, 14, 16, and 18-and-under divisions.[5] Kenin had the opportunity to interact with ATP and WTA tennis players as a young child, including hitting withAnna Kournikova at age seven, partnering withJim Courier againstVenus Williams andTodd Martin as part of an exhibition event,[9][10] and receiving a tour of theMiami Open fromKim Clijsters.[11]
Kenin reached a career-high of No. 2 in the ITF junior rankings.[12] She began playing in low-level Grade-4 events on theITF Junior Circuit in 2012 at the age of 13. After winning her first titles in both singles and doubles in 2013, she progressed to the Grade-1 level.[12] Towards the end of the year, she made her Grade-A debut at theOrange Bowl, reaching the semifinals in singles and finishing runner-up in doubles with Kaitlyn McCarthy toTornado Alicia Black andNaiktha Bains.[13] Kenin made her junior Grand Slam debut in 2014, but only recorded one match win in singles while playing in the latter three events of the year.[12] Following theUS Open, Kenin represented the United States at theJunior Fed Cup along withCiCi Bellis and Black. The team won the tournament, sweeping Slovakia 3–0 in the final. Kenin went undefeated in her five matches, all in doubles.[14] Her next breakthrough came toward the end of the year when she won the Orange Bowl, defeating Bellis andIngrid Neel in the last two rounds.[15]
Kenin built on that success in 2015 by winning the USTA International Spring Championships, a Grade-1 tournament.[16] During the summer, she won theUSTA Girls 18s National Championship as the No. 3 seed, defeating top-seeded Black in the final. With the title, she earned awild card into the main draw of the2015 US Open.[17] Kenin also participated in thejunior event at the US Open and finished runner-up toDalma Gálfi, her best performance at a junior Grand Slam event.[18] This result helped her rise to No. 2 in the world by the end of the year.[12] Kenin continued to play on the junior tour in 2016 while primarily playing in professional events on theITF Women's Circuit. At theUS Open, she again produced one of her best results of the year, losing in the semifinals toViktória Kužmová, after upsetting the top seedAnastasia Potapova in the previous round.[19][20]
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Kenin began playing low-level tournaments on theITF Women's Circuit in 2013 and won her first two professional matches at the age of 14.[21] With her wild card from winning the USTA Junior National Championship, she made her Grand Slam debut at the2015 US Open, losing her opening match toMariana Duque Mariño.[9] The following year, Kenin won her first two ITF titles, the first at a $25k event in Wesley Chapel in Florida and the second at a $50k Sacramento Challenger in California.[21] The latter title helped her win the US Open Wild Card Challenge to earn a wild card into the main draw of theUS Open for the second time.[22] At the US Open, she lost her first-round match toKarolína Plíšková, her only tour-level match of the year.[23]
After beginning the 2017 season ranked outside the top 200, Kenin steadily rose up the WTA rankings throughout the year while playing exclusively on the professional circuit.[21][24] She progressed into the top 150 in August after a string of good results during the summer, including winning the $60kStockton Challenger and finishing runner-up at the $60kLexington Challenger. These ITF performances helped her win the US Open Wild Card Challenge for the second straight year.[25] At the2017 US Open, Kenin advanced beyond the first round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, defeating compatriotsLauren Davis andSachia Vickery, before losing to the 2006 championMaria Sharapova in the third round.[26][27] These were also her first two match wins on the WTA Tour. Kenin's success at the US Open helped convince her to turn professional in September, foregoing a scholarship to attend theUniversity of Miami.[28] She finished the year ranked No. 108 in the world.[24]
With her improved ranking, Kenin was able to play primarily on the WTA Tour in 2018. She began the year by reaching her first WTA quarterfinal at theAuckland Open.[29] After losing her first-round match at theAustralian Open, Kenin produced good results at both Premier Mandatory events in March. She entered the top 100 by reaching the second round of theIndian Wells Open as a qualifier.[29][30] She then qualified for theMiami Open, where she upset No. 11Daria Kasatkina and reached the third round.[31] After losing all five of her WTA Tour matches on clay across main draws and qualifying,[21] Kenin reached her first WTA semifinal at theMallorca Open on grass. She defeated top seed and world No. 6,Caroline Garcia, for her first career top-ten victory before losing toTatjana Maria.[32][33] Kenin closed out the grass-court season with a second-round appearance atWimbledon, winning her debut at the event againstMaria Sakkari.[34]
Back in the United States, Kenin won another $60k title at theBerkeley Club Challenge.[35] She reached the third round of theUS Open for the second consecutive year, losing to Plíšková at the event for the second time.[36] Kenin's best performance during the rest of the season came at theTournoi de Québec, where she reached another semifinal.[37] She defeated world No. 10,Julia Görges, at theWuhan Open for her second top-ten victory of the year.[38] So she advanced into the top 50 for the first time.[24]
Kenin greatly improved in 2019, rising from outside the top 50 at the start of the year to just outside the top ten by the end of the season.[24] She began her year by winning her first WTA doubles title at theAuckland Open withEugenie Bouchard.[39] The following week, she won her first WTA singles title at theHobart International without dropping a set during the event. She upset the top seed and No. 19 Caroline Garcia in the first round, before defeatingAnna Karolína Schmiedlová in the final.[40] With this success, Kenin rose to what was at the time a career-best ranking of No. 37.[41] At theAustralian Open, she pushed world No. 1Simona Halep to three sets in the second round, ultimately losing in a long two-hour-and-thirty-minute match.[42] The following month, Kenin reached another WTA final at theMexican Open, finishing runner-up toWang Yafan despite being up a set and a break.[43] During the clay-court season, Kenin improved on her results from the previous year. She reached the third round at theItalian Open, defeating compatriotMadison Keys before losing to Plíšková. Her best result on clay came at theFrench Open, where she reached the fourth round. During the event, she upset world No. 10,Serena Williams, in the third round before losing to eventual championAshleigh Barty.[44][45]
In the grass-court season, Kenin won her second WTA singles title of the year at theMallorca Open. She defeated three top-25 players in the final three rounds, all in three sets. She saved three championship points in the second set of the final against No. 13Belinda Bencic, before coming from behind to win the match.[46] Although she was seeded for the first time at a major at No. 27, she lost in the second round ofWimbledon toDayana Yastremska.[47] Kenin's best results of theUS Open Series came at the twoPremier 5 tournaments, where she reached the semifinals at both theCanadian Open and theCincinnati Open, losing to the eventual champions at each[48][49] but defeating the current world No. 1 players, Ashleigh Barty andNaomi Osaka, at each event, her first two victories over top-ranked players. She also became the first player to defeat the world No. 1 in back-to-back weeks sinceLindsay Davenport had done so in 2001.[50][51] Following these tournaments, Kenin again lost to Keys in the third round of theUS Open.[52]
During the Asian hardcourt swing, Kenin won one additional title in both singles and doubles. She won her third singles title of the year at theGuangzhou International Open, defeatingSamantha Stosur in the final.[53] Two weeks later, she partnered withBethanie Mattek-Sands to win her second doubles title of the year at theChina Open, a Premier Mandatory event.[54] There, the pair defeated the team ofAryna Sabalenka andElise Mertens, who were ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the world, respectively, at the time. This title brought her to No. 43 in the doubles rankings.[24] At the end of the season, Kenin qualified for theWTA Elite Trophy as the second seed, ranked No. 12 in the world. She won her opening match against compatriotAlison Riske, but lost toKarolína Muchová and did not advance out of her round-robin group.[55][56] Kenin was also named the second alternate at theWTA Finals, behindKiki Bertens. After Naomi Osaka andBianca Andreescu both withdrew, she had the opportunity to play one match, losing to defending championElina Svitolina.[57][58] She finished the year ranked No. 14 in singles and No. 39 in doubles.[24] Kenin also received the WTA awardMost Improved Player of the Year for her breakthrough season, becoming the first American player to win the award since Serena Williams in 1999.[59]
Kenin carried her success at the lower-level tournaments in 2019 to the Grand Slam tournaments in 2020.[60] Despite two second-round losses to start the year, Kenin won theAustralian Open for her first Grand Slam singles title. She only dropped one set before the final – in the fourth round against compatriotCoco Gauff. In the semifinal, she upset world No. 1 and home favorite Ash Barty.[61] She then defeatedGarbiñe Muguruza in the final, coming from a set down.[62] With the victory at just 21 years old, she became the youngest American woman to win a major singles title since Serena Williams wonWimbledon in 2002. Serena won the US Open in 1999 at 17 years old.[63] She also became the youngest American to make her top-ten debut in the WTA rankings since Williams in 1999, rising to No. 7 in the world.[24][64] Kenin won another title at the inauguralLyon Open, where she saved a match point in the second round and overcame a set and 5–2 deficit in the following round as part of a stretch of four consecutive three-set matches. She defeatedAnna-Lena Friedsam in the final. This was Kenin's last event before the WTA Tour shut down for six months because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[65] At this point, she was No. 4 in the world, her career-best ranking at the time.[24]
When the tour resumed, Kenin was seeded second at theUS Open as Barty and Halep had withdrawn because of the pandemic. Although she lost in the fourth round toElise Mertens, this was her best result at the event to date.[66] Following the tournament, Kenin traveled to Europe for the rescheduled clay-court season. Although she lost her only tune-up match to US Open runner-upVictoria Azarenka without winning a game,[67] Kenin continued her Grand Slam tournament success at theFrench Open. She won four three-set matches during the first five rounds before defeating No. 11,Petra Kvitová, in the semifinals.[60][68] She lost the final in straight sets toIga Świątek.[69] At the end of the season, Kenin was awarded theWTA Player of the Year.[70]
Outside of the WTA Tour, Kenin has participated inWorld TeamTennis. She led thePhiladelphia Freedoms to a first-place regular-season finish in 2020 with a 10–4 record in singles.[71][72] Although she defeatedCoCo Vandeweghe in the semifinals, her team lost to the eventual championsNew York Empire.[73]
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Kenin's first tournament of the year was atAbu Dhabi, where she was the top seed. She defeatedYang Zhaoxuan in the first round, and was the beneficiary of a retirement byKirsten Flipkens in the second round. In the third round, Kenin saved a match point againstYulia Putintseva to progress to the quarterfinals, where she faced Maria Sakkari. After winning the first set 6–2, and with the score in the second set 2–2, Kenin lost ten games in a row, ending her run at Abu Dhabi. Her next tournament was theYarra Valley Classic in Melbourne, where she defeatedCamila Giorgi andJessica Pegula to reach the quarterfinals. She met Garbiñe Muguruza in a rematch of the Australian Open final, but Kenin won just four games.
At theAustralian Open, Kenin was the defending champion and fourth seed. She defeated Australian wild card playerMaddison Inglis in the first round but was upset by the unseeded Kaia Kanepi in the second, in straight sets. Kenin's loss was the earliest for a defending champion at the Australian Open sinceJennifer Capriati lost in the first round in2003. After the match, Kenin tearfully admitted that the pressure of defending her title was overwhelming, saying: "I feel like everyone was always asking me: 'Would you want to? Do you see yourself getting [to Melbourne] and winning again?' Obviously I said yes. With the way I’m playing, no."[74]
She then received a wild card for thePhillip Island Trophy, a tournament for players who suffered an early exit at the Australian Open, where she was the top seed and in receipt of a first-round bye. In the second round, Kenin was upset by the unranked Australian wild cardOlivia Gadecki in three sets. Losing to Gadecki, whose career-high ranking was No. 988, marked Kenin's worst defeat by ranking on the WTA Tour. With her disappointing results throughout the Australian summer, her ranking would have fallen to No. 13 in the world, but because of changes to the system introduced as a result of the pandemic, this did not occur.
Withdrawing from numerous tournaments after suffering fromappendicitis, Kenin made her return atMiami, where, with a first-round bye, she defeatedAndrea Petkovic before falling toOns Jabeur in three sets. AtCharleston, she lost in her first match againstLauren Davis. She suffered a second-round defeat atStuttgart toAnett Kontaveit, and lost her first match atRome toBarbora Krejčíková. At theFrench Open, she reached the fourth round, defeatingJeļena Ostapenko,Hailey Baptiste and Jessica Pegula, before falling to Maria Sakkari.[75]
In May 2021, Kenin announced that she was parting ways with her father as coach.[6] Because of an injury, she did not participate in any warmup events beforeWimbledon. At Wimbledon, she defeatedWang Xinyu in the first round before losing toMadison Brengle in the second round. In the loss, Kenin set a new Wimbledon record by committing 41 unforced errors in just 45 minutes.[76]
On 9 November 2021, Kenin announced that her father had returned to her coaching team as she prepared for the2022 Australian Open.[77] She finished the year ranked No. 12 in singles.[78]
Seeded 11th at theAustralian Open, Kenin faced and lost to Madison Keys, in straight sets in the first round.[79] Because she was defending the maximum points she earned fromwinning the tournament in 2020 rather than the 70 points she earned from losing in the second round in 2021 (due to the WTA rankings freeze along with the COVID-19 pandemic), her world ranking plummeted to No. 95 when updated following the conclusion of the tournament on 31 January 2022.[78]
Kenin made her way to the quarterfinals of Adelaide 1 where she lost to the top-seeded Ashleigh Barty in straight sets, marking her first quarterfinal appearance since Melbourne 2021. Despite her run in Adelaide, Kenin lost five consecutive first-round matches with four of those five losses coming in straight sets.
She injured herself and pulled out of all the tournaments in March, April and May after theIndian Wells Open including the two majors, theFrench Open andWimbledon.[80] As a result, her ranking dropped outside the top 300.
She finished the year ranked No. 235.
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Kenin began her season at theAuckland Open, beatingWang Xinyu in the first round before losing to top seed and eventual champion Coco Gauff. She next reached her first tour-level semifinal since the 2020 French Open at theHobart International.[81] She lost toElisabetta Cocciaretto in three sets. At theAustralian Open, she lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka in a match lasting more than two hours.[82] She also lost in the first round of the2023 Linz Open toJule Niemeier.
She recorded her first top-20 win, again since the 2020 French Open by defeating world No. 15,Liudmila Samsonova, at theQatar Ladies Open, in straight sets.[83] She then lost toVeronika Kudermetova in the second round, and in the first round atDubai toMarie Bouzková.[84]
She reached the second round atIndian Wells, after defeatingSloane Stephens in the first,[85] before losing to eventual championElena Rybakina in two close sets. At theMiami Open she went one step further, defeatingStorm Hunter and 28th seedAnhelina Kalinina to reach the third round.[86] She then lost toBianca Andreescu.[87] As a result, she moved back into the top 150 on 3 April 2023.
Kenin defeatedAliaksandra Sasnovich inCharleston to open her clay-court season, before losing toIrina-Camelia Begu. She was defeated byMaryna Zanevska in the first round of theMadrid Open.[88]
At theItalian Open, Kenin defeatedCristina Bucșa in the opening round. She then recorded one of the biggest wins of her career by defeating world No. 2 and reigning Madrid champion, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets in the second round. This was her first top-5 win since defeating world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty, at the2020 Australian Open during her run to the title.[89]
She went through three qualifying rounds to make the main draw at theWimbledon Championships.[90][91] In the first round, she defeated seventh seed Coco Gauff. She lost in the third round to eventual semifinalist Elina Svitolina.
Following reaching her first singles final since 2020 at theSan Diego Open as a wildcard where she lost to fourth seed Barbora Krejčíková,[92] she moved 40 positions up close to the top 50.[93]
At theGuadalajara Open, she reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2019, defeating sixth seed Jeļena Ostapenko.[94][95] Next, she defeatedLeylah Fernandez to reach the semifinal, only her third in her career at a WTA 1000 level.[96][97] She lost to world No. 111,Caroline Dolehide, in straight sets. As a result, she moved more than 20 positions up to world No. 31 on 25 September 2023.[98] Following theChina Open, she returned to the top 30 on 9 October 2023.
Kenin lost her first match of the season at theBrisbane International toArina Rodionova where she was the 14th seed.[99] She then beatGreet Minnen,[100] before losing to home favoriteDaria Saville in the next round at theHobart International.[101] At theAustralian Open, Kenin lost in the first round to top seed Iga Świątek.[102]
Partnering withBethanie Mattek Sands she won theAbu Dhabi Open, overcomingLinda Nosková andHeather Watson in the final.[103] Entering as alternates, the pair won theMiami Open, defeating second seedsGabriela Dabrowski andErin Routliffe.[104] As a result, she returned to the top 50 in the doubles rankings, on 1 April 2024.[105] Kenin won her first tour-level singles match since January at theItalian Open, defeatingLucia Bronzetti in straight sets.[106] During the match Kenin disagreed with the chair umpire and tournament supervisor's decision to keep players on court during rain, in response to the decision and boos from the crowd Kenin shouted expletives in both English and Russian, receiving an audible obscenity warning, before breaking Bronzetti to get the match back on serve. The match was suspended for rain immediately after.[107] In the following round Kenin upset eighth seedOns Jabeur for her first top 10 win of the season.[108] Kenin would lose the next round to qualifierRebecca Šramková, in three sets.[109]
At theFrench Open, playing for the first time since 2021, she won her opening match in three sets overLaura Siegemund.[110] Kenin then advanced to the third round with a victory over 21st seed and French No. 1 player,Caroline Garcia.[111] In the third round, she lost toClara Tauson in straight sets.[112]
At the beginning of her grass-court season at the WTA 500Eastbourne International, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser replacing top seed Elena Rybakina,[113] directly into the second round where she lost toHarriet Dart in three sets.[114] AtWimbledon, Kenin went out in the first round to world No. 1, Iga Świątek.[115]
Kenin made it into the second round at theUS Open by defeatingEmma Raducanu[116] but then lost to sixth seedJessica Pegula.[117]In October, at thePan Pacific Open, she entered as a wildcard and reached her first singles semifinal in more than a year (since 2023 in Guadalajara) and then the final with wins over 10th seedWang Xinyu,[118] lucky loser Clara Tauson,[119] third seedDaria Kasatkina[120][121][122] and ninth seedKatie Boulter.[123] As a result she returned to the top 100 on 28 October 2024 raising close to 70 positions up in the singles rankings, having been ranked No. 155 in the beginning of the tournament.[124] Kenin lost the final to top seedZheng Qinwen in straight sets.[125] At the next and last Asian swing tournament of the season, the2024 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Kenin reached back-to-back quarterfinals defeatingJessika Ponchet, having received a wildcard into the singles main draw.[126]
Kenin reached the quarterfinals at theHobart International with wins over fifth seedLulu Sun[127] and Anna Blinkova,[128] before losing to wildcard entrantMaya Joint.[129] At the2025 Australian Open, Kenin lost to third seed Coco Gauff in straight sets.[130]
At theCharleston Open, Kenin reached the quarterfinals defeating fifth seed Daria Kasatkina.[131][132] Next, she defeated 14th seedAnna Kalinskaya in straight sets to reach the semifinals.[133] She reached her first clay final in five years defeatingAmanda Anisimova after her retirement.[134][135] Kenin lost the final to Jessica Pegula.[136]
After winning the Junior Fed Cup in 2014, Kenin was nominated for her first seniorFed Cup tie in the2018 final against theCzech Republic. Both teams were missing their best players, with theWilliams sisters,Sloane Stephens, and Madison Keys for the United States, as well as Plíšková andPetra Kvitová for the Czech Republic all unavailable.[137] Kenin andAlison Riske were selected to play singles againstBarbora Strýcová andKateřina Siniaková. Kenin lost both of her singles matches in three sets, as the Czech Republic swept the tie 3–0 to win the Fed Cup. The decisive third rubber between Kenin and Siniaková was particularly close. The match lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes, and ended with Siniaková needing to save two match points on Kenin's serve in the third set before coming from behind to win.[138]
Kenin represented the United States again in2019. In the first round againstAustralia, she lost her only match to Ashleigh Barty who won both of her singles rubbers as well as the decisive doubles rubber to lead Australia to a 3–2 victory. The United States' next tie was againstSwitzerland as part of theWorld Group play-offs. After Keys lost the first match and Stephens won both of her singles rubbers, Kenin was selected to play the last singles rubber againstTimea Bacsinszky. Kenin defeated Bacsinszky to win the tie 3–1 and keep the United States in the World Group for 2020.[139]
With a new format in2020 and the name of the Fed Cup competition changing to the Billie Jean King Cup mid-season, Kenin played in theQualifying round in a tie againstLatvia a week after winning the2020 Australian Open. After defeatingAnastasija Sevastova and losing toJeļena Ostapenko, Kenin partnered withBethanie Mattek-Sands to defeat the two of them in the decisive doubles rubber.[140][141] The United States advanced to theBillie Jean King Cup Finals where they were drawn in a round-robin group withSpain andSlovakia.
In2023 Kenin was selected by captainKathy Rinaldi in the final event of her captaincy. Kenin played for the team at first singles given the team was missing bothGauff,Pegula, andKeys. She won her first tie, a three set epic against defending champion Switzerland'sViktorija Golubic, but lost to Wimbledon championMarketa Vondrousova only winning two games in the tie against the Czech Republic.Danielle Collins did well at second singles winning both her ties, but failed to clutch the tie against the Czech Republic alongsideTaylor Townsend in the deciding doubles. Team USA, after winning the tie over Switzerland 3-0 and losing to the Czech Republic 1-2, finished 2nd in the group and did not advance to the semifinals.[142]Team USA is one of eight finalists for the Billie Jean Cup 2025 to be held in China in September.
Kenin has an aggressive style of play that is built around incorporating a variety of shots into her game rather than just power. She plays primarily from the baseline and can hit winners with both herforehand andbackhand. She excels at disguising whether her backhand is going cross-court or down the line. Two of Kenin's best shots are her backhand down the line and her inside-in forehand. Kenin can strategically add slice to her backhand, which she may use to hit well-disguiseddrop shot winners. On occasion, she can also hit slice forehands, a rare shot in modern tennis. On the defensive side, Kenin is capable of hitting her forehand even as high as shoulder height.[143][144][145][146]Petra Kvitová noticed Kenin's aggressive and determined style of play in early 2018, a trait that Kenin's father said that she had developed in 2017, her first full year on the professional tour. She had previously been described byMaria Sharapova as more of a "grinder," that is, a counter-puncher who has good movement and gets a lot of balls back in play without trying to end points.[143][147][148]
One of the keys to Kenin's style of play is consistency, in particular with redirecting shots.[149] Her childhood coach Rick Macci has praised her determination. He has called her "the mosquito," saying, "She’s just there the whole time, bothering you. She’s had this innate mental strength since she was a little kid. It was already baked in there." Macci also stated: "Her timing of the ball is better than anybody I ever taught. You’ll notice she’s not out of balance that much, and she can take the ball right off the bounce like a wizard. Everyone can hit deep, but the angles she gets, even while taking the ball early, are so acute that she gets you off the court, and then she goes for the jugular."[150] Kenin has an unusual service motion in that she looks downward initially during her ball toss.[151]
Between 2018 and 2022, Kenin was endorsed byFila for her clothing and shoes,[152] having previously been sponsored byNike.[153] Since 2022, Kenin has been sponsored by the American athletics company Free People Movement. Kenin's racket sponsor isBabolat, and she uses the Pure Drive model.[154] In January 2021, Kenin signed an endorsement deal with American consumer electronics and telecommunications companyMotorola.[155] In May 2021 Kenin was announced as a brand ambassador for the fitness kinesio-therapeutic tape brand KT Tape.[156]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | W | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1 / 9 | 9–8 | 53% |
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 4R[A] | F | 4R | A | Q1 | 3R | 3R | 0 / 6 | 15–6 | 71% | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | 2R | 2R | NH | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 6 | 6–6 | 50% | |
| US Open | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 10 | 11–10 | 55% | |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 16–2 | 5–3 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 1 / 31 | 41–30 | 58% |
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 2–7 | 22% | |
| French Open | A | 2R | QF | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 0 / 4 | 5–4 | 56% | |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | NH | 1R | A | A | 3R | QF[A] | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | 43% | |
| US Open | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 3–7 | 30% | |
| Win–loss | 1–2 | 1–4 | 6–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 5–4 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0 / 23 | 15–23 | 44% |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2020 | Australian Open | Hard |  Garbiñe Muguruza | 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2020 | French Open | Clay |  Iga Świątek | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2019 | China Open | Hard |  Bethanie Mattek-Sands |  Jeļena Ostapenko Dayana Yastremska | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), [10–7] |
| Win | 2024 | Miami Open | Hard | Bethanie Mattek-Sands |  Gabriela Dabrowski Erin Routliffe | 4–6, 7–6(7–5), [11–9] |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Orange Bowl Girls' Singles Champion Category: 18 and under 2014 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
