Before coronavirus consumed tennis, Sofia Kenin rediscovered winning

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It’s likely Sofia Kenin made the commitment to play in Lyon long before she won the Australian Open. But there she was last week, the only Top 30 player entered in the indoor tournament, competing nearly 3,000 miles from where she’d played the previous week in Doha and 5,800 miles from where she was due to play the next week at Indian Wells—that is, of course, before the tournament was cancelled.

Just over a month ago in Melbourne, Kenin had been the party crasher, a surprise champion whose victims included the ascending Coco Gauff, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and, in the finals, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza. As has often happened, a slump followed. In February, Kenin only played four singles matches and won but one.

She didn’t start off too impressively in Lyon, either. In the second round, versus a qualifier, 174th-ranked Jaqueline Cristian, Kenin fought off a match point before rallying to win, 6-4 in the third. Her next three matches also went the distance. In the quarterfinals, against 130th-ranked Oceane Dodin, Kenin saw a 6-1, 5-2 lead evaporate before closing it out, 6-2 in the decider. The semifinal versus fifth-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck was a seesaw battle, Kenin requiring nearly two-and-a-half hours to take the match, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2). In the finals, a tough battle against 136th-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam. But Kenin squeaked through that one too, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

In the end, she’d earned her fifth WTA singles title before her 22nd birthday, and reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world.

“I had two tough losses but I knew I needed to regroup, and I'm so happy that I won it,” said Kenin. “Every match was a close one and I had to really fight through—every player I played put up a tough fight against me, and I was able to play my game which was good.”

Sofia Kenin, taking questions the previous week in Doha. (Getty Images)

In the process of winning Lyon, Kenin had demonstrated two longstanding tennis principles relevant for those who wish to endure long stays on the highest rungs of the tennis ladder: the ability to raise the trophy when you’re expected to do so, coupled with an aptitude for successful problem-solving when you’re not playing your best tennis.

More than 20 years ago, Martina Hingis made a comment that has entered the tennis lexicon: “I have gone from the hunter to the hunted.” In many ways, Hingis is a stylistic ancestor to Kenin: smaller than most, an extremely savvy tactician, keen to compete and make opponents pay the price for daring to underestimate her. With that kind of subtle, predator-like approach, being the hunter is indeed a fun place to be. But once you’ve won a singles major, only a fool dares underestimate you.

For so much of a player’s development, it all about process, the sheer personal joy of hitting a ball, competing and, yes, attaining great outcomes. But then, the breakthrough win comes and it’s akin to a family business going public. Now, a player is no longer an insular solo act, but a corporation, an entity where others are counting on you to succeed. Twelve months ago, would the Lyon tournament director have worried if Kenin had lost in the first round? But this year, she carried the marquee. Craft had given way to economics.

Here is where it becomes necessary to recall this idea: the ball knows nothing. The ball doesn’t care how tall or old you are, if you’re hunter or hunted, champ or chump, armed with a seven-figure clothing contract or bought your wardrobe at the thrift stores. The ball simply exists to be hit.

Sofia Kenin’s awareness of that took her to the title in Melbourne. Now, in the public light, we remain curious to see how she prioritizes that knowledge over all else.