Sofia Kenin’s 2024 performance has been a far cry from the one that won her the Australian Open 2020 title, with the American also exiting the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami in the first round.

Sofia Kenin, defeat by Katie Volynets at the WTA in Miami

At the age of 25, Sofia has not been able to return to the top of the WTA ranking (the highest was at the 4th place), and the beginning of the current season is a failure for the player born in Moscow.

In Miami, Kenin lost in the first round to Katie Volynets (121 WTA, based on qualification), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

For Sofia Kenin, this is the seventh defeat in a row and the eighth since 2024. She also lost matches to Arina Rodionova, Daria Saville (Gavrylova), Iza Sviatek, Heather Watson, Maria Buzkova, Sorana Kirstea and Viktoria Tomova.

The only match won this year came in the first round in Hobart: 6-3, 6-3 against Belgian Greet Minnen.

Instead, Volynets (parents from Ukraine) won in Miami the third consecutive victory in three sets (after qualifying) and will beat the Italian Jasmine Paolini (14 WTA, favorite 12) in the next round.

Katie reached 17 wins in 2024 (6 losses), among the defeated opponents were Ons Jaber or Mirra Andreeva.

The WTA 1000 category tournament will be held in Miami from March 19 to 31. Played on hard court, the main draw features 128 players and a total prize pool of $8,995,555. The champion of the overall title is Petra Kvitova (she is pregnant and will not participate in this year’s edition).