Sofia Kenin has not found her rhythm in recent years and has left the elite of world tennis. At the tournament in Auckland, the champion of the Australian Open-2020 was defeated in the 1/8 finals by Coco Gauff.

Sofia KeninPhoto: Masatoshi Okauchi / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia Images

Sofia Kenin defeated Coco Gauf at the WTA in Auckland

At the moment, Kenin is ranked 227th in the WTA rankings, after an hour and 24 minutes of play she lost to the main favorite of the competition from New Zealand.

Sofia managed to win her only previous meeting with Gauff, right during her winning campaign at the 2020 Australian Open.

Know:

  • Koko (7 WTA, 18 years old) is next to face Lin Zhu (84 WTA), after the Chinese woman dramatically beat veteran Venus Williams.
  • After an early exit in Auckland, Sofia Kenin is ranked 279 in the WTA Real Time Rankings.

WTA quarterfinals in Auckland

Coco Gauf (1) – Lin Zhu

Victoria Kuzmova vs Danka Kovinich (7)

Isalyn Bonaventura — Leila Fernandez (3)

Karolina Muhova – Rebekah Masarova.

The ASB Classic (WTA Auckland) runs from January 2 to 8 on hard, is part of the WTA 250 category, offers a total of $259,303 in prize money, and is championed (as of 2020) by Serena Williams.

Sofia Kenin – From the idol of Maria Sharapova to the release of her father

After winning the Australian Open 2020, the American was seen as one of Ashley Barty’s rivals and athletes at the top of the WTA hierarchy.

In the same year (2020), Sofia also reached the final of Roland Garros, and from that moment Kenin’s career went steadily downhill (that season ended with 24 wins and 9 losses).

2022 was a disastrous year for Kenin, who won only 4 matches and lost 13 times.

Sofia’s family history is very interesting: her parents moved from Moscow to New York many years before Sofia was born.

The athlete was born in the Russian capital, and a few months later the family returned to the United States.

Sofia started playing tennis at the Nick Bollettieri Academy, and her big idol was Maria Sharapova.

In the most important moments of her career (Australian Open 2020 and Roland Garros final of the same year), Sofia was prepared by her father. He was released in May 2021.