Having broken onto the international scene with a run to the third round of the US Open in 2017 before losing to childhood idol Sharapova, #SofiaKenin followed up her success with a career breakthrough year in 2018. Breaking into the world’s top-50 for the first time in her career, the American ended the year tipped as one of the game’s biggest rising stars currently.
Accounting for all ITF tournaments, Fed Cup, and qualifying matches, Kenin earned herself a decent 37-26 (.587) win-loss record. However, if only WTA main draw matches were taken into account, the youngster will only have amassed a disappointing 18-16 record. Nonetheless, Kenin claimed two terrific wins over top-10 players and reached two WTA semifinals in the process.
High Points of the Season
If the first tournament of the year were to be an indicator of Kenin’s success this year, it would have been relatively accurate. Lurking outside the top-100, the American started to play the WTA tournaments regularly and was handed a wildcard into the ASB Classic, where she made her first tour-level quarterfinal by beating former top-20 player Varvara Lepchenko in the process. She claimed the first set against eventual Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki but failed to keep her level throughout the match.
After successfully qualifying for the BNP Paribas Open and making the second round, Kenin finally made her long-awaited top-100 debut and made a name for herself on the international stage. She backed it up with a stunning upset over Indian Wells finalist and world number 11 Daria Kasatkina, which was the biggest win of her career then. Kenin proved that she was the next big thing when she was just an inch away from upsetting Petra Kvitova in the third round of the Miami Open.
Kenin had to wait until the grass season to taste some success. Getting through the qualifying rounds with a breeze, the grass seemed to be the American’s place to be. Upsetting world number six Caroline Garcia for the best win of her career, Kenin reached the semifinals of the Mallorca Open but fell narrowly to eventual champion Tatjana Maria in three sets.
At an ITF 60k event held in Berkeley, Kenin strolled to the title as the top seed, having not lost a set throughout the week. That was the only final the American youngster had reached in 2018.
The US Open became a place full of memorable moments for Kenin after all her achievements in Flushing Meadows. She replicated her third-round result from last year, this time upsetting Maria Sakkari in the second round before coming close against eighth-ranked Karolina Pliskova in a tight encounter.
Riding on her momentum after her confidence-boosting run in New York, Kenin stormed to the semifinals in Quebec City without losing a set once more. Unfortunately, she was upset by Jessica Pegula which blew her chances of claiming her maiden WTA title despite being the overwhelming favourite.
A stunning 6-1, 6-1 win over 28th-ranked Hsieh Su-wei came in the opening round of the Wuhan Open before Kenin went on to defeat world number 10 Julia Goerges in three sets. Although the 20-year-old ultimately fell to Aryna Sabalenka, that run pushed her into the top-50 for the first time in her career.
Kenin unexpectedly earned herself a new label by the end of 2018 — a Fed Cup heroine. Representing the USA for the first time in her career at the Fed Cup, she led an inexperienced team against the Czech Republic in the final. Despite suffering from two heartbreaking losses during the weekend, Kenin was lauded for her impressive fight — losing a two-hour, 43-minute encounter against Barbora Strycova before falling short to Katerina Siniakova in a three-hour, 45-minute classic having owned match points.
Low Points of the Season
Kenin was just on the verge of breaking the top-100 after a quarterfinal run in Auckland. However, she blew her perfect chances to create a new milestone in her career as she was upset in the early rounds of the WTA 125k event held in Newport Beach and Indian Wells and was handed an early exit at the ITF 100k tournament in Midland as well.
In case it was not obvious enough, Kenin’s least preferred surface would be clay which is normal for an American player. She went on a tough and disappointing five-match losing streak in WTA tournaments during the clay season, failing to pick up a single win as each day during that stretch seemed unbearable for the youngster.
With the draw opening up for Kenin at Wimbledon as 24th seed Sharapova lost in the opening round while having defeated the higher-ranked Maria Sakkari, the American was tipped to excel at the tournament especially after going deep in Mallorca. However, she was eventually upset by 132nd-ranked Vitalia Diatchenko in the second round.
Kenin was also forced to endure through a poor US Open Series and failed to qualify for any events with the exception of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. The American lost in the second round of qualifying at the Rogers Cup, Western and Southern Open, and the Connecticut Open. That was the golden opportunity for the youngster to earn valuable ranking points but failed to convert those chances.
In yet another big tournament, Kenin failed to perform as she left the China Open with a first-round exit in the qualifying phase. She ended the season on a five-match losing streak but cemented her place in the top-50 by the end of the year.
Season Grade: B-
It has been a streaky season for Kenin who could occasionally find some of her best tennis but there were patches where she looked out-of-sorts. The American definitely has the potential in her and it was a decent season for the youngster in her first full year on the tour. Breaking into the top-100 was soon followed by a maiden tour-level semifinal appearance before making her debut in the top-50. Kenin will be set for an even better year in 2019.
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