How Sofia Kenin and Her Father’s Globe-Trotting Tennis Adventure Forced Mother to Make the Ultimate Home Sacrifice

From Russia to America, from becoming world number 4 to dropping down to 49 in the world! Life has been a rollercoaster ride for the 2020 AO champion Sofia Kenin. Her parents have played a major role in her rise to the bigger stages of the tennis world. One has watched her rise to the top from the front seat, while the other witnessed a series of emotions while seeing her through TV screens. Kenin started playing tennis at the age of 5, drawing inspiration from her father who had played the sport for a little bit of recreation in the middle of all the struggles and sacrifices. Here’s the story of two of the strongest pillars of support for the American tennis star.

Sofia’s parents, Alexander and Svetlana Kenin, traveled all the way from Moscow to get settled in New York in 1987. They had only $286 in their bank account when they first moved to the US. As a result, the Kenins had to come back to Russia for their daughter’s birth to receive financial help from their family during the initial months. However, they returned to the US  a few months later. Alexander Kenin coached his daughter for quite a few years before the two parted ways in 2021. Her mother used to work as a nurse for a hospital in the Soviet Union.

So, it was mainly Sofia’s father who accompanied her during her matches while her mother used to stay back and look at home. While speaking on her introduction to the racquet sport, Kenin revealed, “I was never into playing with toys. I was playing with balls and hitting with racquets so my dad decided to get me into tennis. My Mom was involved initially when I wasn’t traveling much. When things took off, she stayed at home and I traveled with my dad everywhere.”

When she was later on asked about her mother, Sofia Kenin said her mom misses her more than her dad. However, she’s happy for her support throughout her journey. Sofia Kenin and her dad are more like a team. Speaking about the role of her father in her team, she said, “He knows what he is talking about and comes up with the right plans and the right strategies. He just knows it.”

Kenin says her father is more “crazy smart“, who has learned about the sport through his experiences over the years. Both of her parents finally got their reward for all their hard work for their daughter when Kenin won the AO in 2020. What was her mother’s reaction to her victory?

“My mom cannot watch me” – Sofia Kenin’s heartwarming revelation about her mother

After winning the Australian Open in 2020, the 25-year-old American tennis star revealed that her mom gets extremely nervous during her matches. So after clinching her maiden Grand Slam title, Sofia Kenin wasted no time in ringing her mom to tell her that everything was fine and she had won the match, she can relax now.

Elaborating on the same she added, “She’s been really stressed at home, very superstitious. She’s just really happy. I told her I’m not going to be able to talk to you for hours. But at least you know that I won. I’m coming home, you can give me the biggest hug of your life. My mom cannot watch me. I can see she’s still nervous. She doesn’t like watching. It’s fine.” It has been a long time since she won that major title! Can she create another historic moment in her career in the next few years? Share your thoughts on this in the comment box.