Sofia Anna Kenin (nicknamed Sonya, /ˈsoʊniə ˈkɛnɪn/ SOH-nee-ə KEN-in; born November 14, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. 4 in the world. Kenin is the reigning champion at the Australian Open and the youngest American to win a Grand Slam women’s singles title since Serena Williams in 2002. She was named the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year in 2019, making her the first American to win the award also since Serena Williams in 1999. Kenin has won five WTA singles titles in total. She has also won two WTA doubles titles, including the 2019 China Open at the Premier Mandatory level with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. On the ITF tour, she has won four singles titles and two doubles titles.
Kenin was a child prodigy whose ability attracted the attention of veteran coach Rick Macci at the age of five. Coached primarily by her father, Kenin became a promising junior player, reaching No. 2 in the world after winning the Orange Bowl at the age of 16 and finishing runner-up at the 2015 US Open girls’ singles event the following year. She also won the USTA Girls 18s National Championship during that summer. On the professional tour, Kenin made her debut in the top 100 of the WTA rankings in 2018 as a teenager. She reached four WTA singles finals in 2019, three of which she won. Kenin’s championship run at the 2020 Australian Open was highlighted by a victory over home favorite and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty. Before this title, her best result at a Grand Slam tournament came at the 2019 French Open, where she defeated Serena Williams and made it to the fourth round.
Daria Sergeyevna Kasatkina (Russian: Дарья Сергеевна Касаткина; born 7 May 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player. She made her top 10 debut in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings towards the end of the 2018 season. She has won two WTA titles in singles as well as one in doubles.
Born to athletic parents who were nationally ranked in athletics and ice hockey, Kasatkina began playing tennis at age six at the insistence of her older brother. She excelled as a junior, winning the European 16s championship and one junior Grand Slam singles title at the 2014 French Open. Kasatkina quickly ascended up the professional rankings, reaching No. 32 in the world while still 18 years old and winning her first WTA title as a teenager at the Charleston Open. She rose to prominence in 2018 by finishing runner-up to fellow up-and-coming player Naomi Osaka at the Premier Mandatory Indian Wells Open in a match regarded as representing a new wave of women’s tennis. Kasatkina also won the biggest title of her career at the Kremlin Cup at home in Russia towards the end of the season.