Sofia Kenin

New Look Mixed Format Set For Champions Series Tennis

February 14, 2022 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

The 2022 Champions Series Tennis circuit will kick off Saturday, March 5 with a new look mixed format featuring men’s and women’s legends competing throughout the year for prize money and the season-long points championship.

Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, and Eugenie Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, will join former world No. 11 Sam Querrey and 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the year’s opening event Saturday, March 5 at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Querrey and Kenin will play as a team against Haas and Bouchard, each playing a set of singles and then pairing for a deciding mixed doubles match.

Each event will feature $75,000 in prize money with $50,000 going to the winning team and $25,000 to the runner-up. The winning team members will each be awarded 100 ranking points towards the season-long championship. Each player will also be awarded 100 ranking points for participating in the event and an additional 100 ranking points for each match victory.

“Through the years, the most frequent feedback we have received from our fans and sponsors is that they would love to see doubles and they also would love to see women play, so that led us to creating this new exciting format showcasing both,” said Jon Venison, Co-President of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, the organization that founded and runs Champions Series Tennis.

Champions Series Tennis will also stage events in 2022 in Dallas, St. Louis, The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Orlando and other sites to be announced. Full player fields and event dates will be announced in the near future.

For the Sherwood Country Club event, the event will start with “Play with the Pros” fan experiences from 10am to 12pm, followed by a “Player Party Experience” and a “Backstage Experience.” Querrey and Haas will kick off match play at 2 pm, followed by Kenin and Bouchard and concluding with the mixed doubles match. Champions Series Tennis began in 2005 and over the last 16 years has featured some of the greatest names in men’s tennis, including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Michael Chang among others. Courier won the first Champions Series Tennis event held in 2005 in Houston at the Westside Tennis Club.

ABOUT INSIDEOUT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a Los Angeles based producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Champions Series, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, The World Series of Beach Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has raised over $5 million for charity. In 2014, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment merged with Horizon Media, the largest privately held media services agency in the world. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or ChampionsSeriesTennis.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Novak Djokovic declared heavy favorite US Open 2021

August 30, 2021 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Novak Djokovic is declared heavy favorite US Open 2021

Novak Djokovic may have missed out on the Golden Slam when he lost at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 but he has not given up on his dream to win the final Grand Slam tournament 2021. And if he wins then he will have a the rare and thus very prestigious calendar Slam. Despite the withdraws from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and more top players, there are still a lot of adversaries to go round. Despite that, you can still declare Djokovic a clear favorite.

In a press conference at the US Open 2021 Djokovic said he was inspired and incredibly motivated.

“I’m very inspired to play my best tennis here. I don’t want to say it’s now or never for me because I think I’m going to have more opportunities in my life to win Slams. I don’t know if I’m going to be having more opportunities to win Calendar Slams.”

“That’s why it’s a very unique opportunity. At the same time, I don’t need to put any additional pressure to what I already have, which is pretty big from my own self and from of course people around me.”

What do you think? Will Djokovic win the prestigious Calendar Slam? Let us know in the comments!

Vaccinated Sofia Kenin skips US Open 2021 due to corona infection

Sofia Kenin is forced to watch the US Open 2021 from the sidelines after being infected by the coronavirus. Luckily Kenin has been vaccinated so the symptoms won’t be so severe she tells.

“Fortunately I am vaccinated and thus my symptoms have been fairly mild,” Kenin wrote. “However I have continued to test positive and thus will not be able to compete at the U.S. Open next week.”

“I plan to spend the next several weeks getting healthy and preparing to play well this fall,” Kenin posted Wednesday. “Thank you all for supporting me.”

This year’s US Open will have 100% attendency again after 2020’s edition of the US Open was played behind closed doors due to the coronapandemic.

Naomi Osaka releases powerful statement ahead of US Open

It has been a tough year for Naomi Osaka. She has been dealing with mental health issues and issued a media blackout during that period. She took to Twitter to release a powerful statement ahead of the US Open of 2021. She indicated that she is her own architect of her own failing. Naomi Osaka ended her media boycott at the Cincinatti Open.

“I’ve been reflecting over the past year. So grateful for the people around me because the support I feel is completely unparalleled,” Osaka posted.

“Recently I‘ve been asking myself why do I feel the way I do, and I realise one of the reasons is because internally I think I’m never good enough.

“I‘ve never told myself that I’ve done a good job but I do know I constantly tell myself that I suck or I could do better.

“I know in the past some people have called me humble but if I really consider it I think I’m really self deprecating. Every time a new opportunity arises my first thought is, ‘Wow, why me?’

“I guess what I‘m trying to say is that I’m gonna try to celebrate myself and my accomplishments more, I think we all should.

“Your life is your own and you shouldn‘t value yourself on other people’s standards.

“I know I give my heart to everything I can and if that‘s not good enough for some then my apologies, but I can’t burden myself with those expectations anymore.

“Seeing everything that’s going on in the world I feel like if I wake up in the morning that’s a win. That’s how I’m coming.”

The 23-year-old Japanese star lit the flame in the Olympic cauldron at the Tokyo Games, but has played only two matches since Japan ahead of the Open.

“I know I haven’t played that many matches. I know that I haven’t even gotten to a quarter-final,” Osaka said.

“Actually I feel pretty happy with how I’m playing… I feel pretty confident with where I am right now. Of course I’m not declaring that I’ll do amazing here. I’m the one-match-at-a-time like person.

“Hopefully it will work out in the end.”

What do you make of Naomi’s powerful statement? Is it something that resonates with you? Let us know in the comments.

Patrick Mouratoglou gives explanation on why Serena Williams withdrew

Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou has given an explanation on why Serena Williams withdrew from the US Open 2021. In an interview Mouratoglou with CBS Sports stated that while Serena was very motivated mentally, her body just wasn’t ready to compete yet at the highest level.

“[Serena] got injured at Wimbledon and we knew we had a very tight schedule to put her back on track and be able to play this US Open,” Mouratoglou told CBS Sports. “We knew that any setback during this period would be a no-go. So, at the start, it went well. She started from not being able to walk to being able to be finally on a tennis court, without moving but playing tennis.”

“We did exams [MRI] and we realized that there was still a tear on the tendon that was not completely back to normal,” Mouratoglou told CBS Sports. “Even though we tried, with one week until the US Open, we realized finally that there was a big risk with playing. The risk of a much worse injury which was really there because if you play with a tear in the tendon and you go too far, the tendon can completely break and it’s something you don’t want to risk.”

And it is too bad because Serena Williams and her team did everything they could to compete at this year’s US Open:

“It’s sad because it’s only a question of maybe having two more weeks and she would’ve been fine but we didn’t have those two extra weeks. She’ll be completely fine [to play again] in two to three weeks but the risk was too big to take,” he said.

Meanwhile Serena took to Instagram to issue a statement on backing out of the US Open 2021.

“After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring,” Serena Williams wrote on Instagram. “New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favorite places to play — I’ll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone on from afar. Thank you for your continued support and love. I’ll see you soon.”

US Open 2021 reaches record height in prize money

The US Open had to play without a crowd in the 2020 edition due to the corona pandemic but the US Open organisation has more than made up for that. With a $57,5 million USD there is a lot to play for.

“Last year was a very difficult year for all of us, and the pandemic had a profound impact on the USTA’s financial health,” said Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. “Yet we worked—and continue to work—extremely hard to ensure that tennis would continue to thrive for the long-term at every level, and that work led to more than 4 million new and returning players participating in tennis in 2020. Our support of tennis is very broad, and touches every level of the game. The US Open is an unparalleled showcase for all that is so wonderful about our sport, and the players are an integral part of that. We are proud to return our player compensation to pre-pandemic levels.”

Added to that Stacey Allaster said the following about the US Open series and investing at the very roots that has attracted more people to the sport of tennis during the corona 2020 pandemic and created a lot of momentum with a 22% increase of new players.

Stacey Allaster added to it that the US Open has invested a lot of money at the roots of the game. Tennis has gained a lot of momentum during the 2020 pandemic and saw a 22% increase in sales and participation and it is still growing.

“With the US Open’s greatest return—fans on-site and full draws across all competitions—we know that 2021 will be an historic year for this great tournament,” said Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis and US Open Tournament Director. “We determined our round-by-round prize money allocations by engaging in an open dialogue with the players and the management of both tours. We applaud their collective leadership in directing the 2021 US Open prize money to benefit the maximum number of players.”

Round-by-round individual prize money for the US Open is as follows:

Singles:
Winner: $2,500,000
Runner-Up: $1,250,000
Semifinalist: $675,000
Quarterfinalist: $425,000
Round of 16: $265,000
Round of 32: $180,000
Round of 64: $115,000
Round of 128: $75,000

Doubles (each team):
Winner: $660,000
Runner-Up: $330,000
Semifinalist: $164,000
Quarterfinalist: $93,000
Round of 16: $54,000
Round of 32: $34,000
Round of 64: $20,000

USA Edges Latvia In Fed Cup Thriller

February 9, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

Depth and doubles was the ticket to Budapest for the U.S. Fed Cup team on Saturday in Everett, Wash., as Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin soothed a long and treacherous afternoon-turned-evening with a fifth-and-decisive doubles victory over two valiant Latvians to book the Americans’ trip to the 2020 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest, Hungary, April 14-19.

A day the United States began with a 2-0 lead at 3:30 p.m. turned into a 2-2 tie as 9 p.m. came and went. First, 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko defeated the newly-crowned Australian Open champion Kenin, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, with a powerful, fearless performance that breathed life into Team Latvia. Anastasija Sevastova rode that momentum to a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(4), victory over Serena Williams in the day’s second singles, Williams’ first-ever Fed Cup singles loss in 15 matches. It was a 2-hour, 25-minute war of attrition, after which Sevastova came right back out for doubles a half hour later.

That’s when U.S. Captain Kathy Rinaldi turned to Kenin — subbed in for Alison Riske — and Mattek-Sands, a team that together won the China Open title last fall and began 2020 with a 4-2 record. Mattek-Sands, previously 3-0 in fifth-and-decisive Fed Cup doubles matches, improved that record to 4-0 as she and Kenin wore down Sevastova and Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-0, in front of a second capacity crowd of 6,367 at Angel Of The Winds Arena.

The U.S. now heads to Budapest to attempt to add to its record 18 Fed Cup titles, joining fellow qualifiers Russia, Spain, Belgium, Belarus, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia; 2019 finalists Australia and France; host nation Hungary and wild-card nation Czech Republic. The Finals will be played on indoor red clay at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena.

The draw for the Finals will take place in Budapest on Tuesday, February 11, at noon ET. It will be live streamed at FedCup.com.

Team nominations must be made by Tuesday, March 17, or 28 days before the Monday of the week of the start of the event.

Final Results — U.S. v. Latvia

DAY/LOCAL TIME

Friday, 7:30 p.m. PT (10:30 p.m. ET)

Sofia Kenin (USA) d. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT), 6-2, 6-2

Serena Williams (USA) d. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT), 7-6(4), 7-6(3)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET)

Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) d. Sofia Kenin (USA), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) d. Serena Williams (USA), 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(4)

Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Sofia Kenin (USA) d.

Jelena Ostapenko/Anastasija Sevastova (LAT), 6-4, 6-0

U.S. Fed Cup Team (courtesy USTA/Andy Ong)

Aussie Open Title Puts Sofia Kenin as No. 1 American

February 3, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

After capturing her first Grand Slam title in her maiden major final at the Australian Open, Sofia Kenin breaks into the WTA Top 10 for the first time in her career today at World No.7.

At 21 years, 81 days old, Kenin becomes the youngest American woman to make her Top 10 debut since Serena Williams in 1999, and surpasses Madison Keys and Serena Williams in the rankings to also become the new American No.1.

By lifting the trophy in Melbourne, Kenin is the youngest American woman to win a major since Serena Williams at the 2002 US Open. She now owns four Tour-level titles, having lifted her first three trophies last year at the Hobart International, Mallorca Open and the Guangzhou Open. Click here to listen to Kenin discuss her dream run in Melbourne on the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast.

Aussie Open Star Kenin Joins Serena Williams, Coco Gauff on U.S. Fed Cup Team

January 28, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

The USTA and United States Fed Cup Captain Kathy Rinaldi today announced that 23-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 9 Serena Williams, No. 15 Sofia Kenin, No. 19 Alison Riske, No. 67 Coco Gauff and former doubles No. 1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands will represent the U.S. in its Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifying tie vs. Latvia February 7-8 at Angel Of The Winds Arena in Everett, Wash.

World No. 33 Anasasija Sevastova, No. 45 and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, No. 263 Diana Marcinkevica and No. 492 Daniela Vismane will represent Latvia for Captain Adrians Zguns in the best-of-five match series, which will be played on a hard court inside Angel Of The Winds Arena.

Play will begin at 7:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET) on Friday and 3:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. ET) on Saturday. Friday’s two singles matches will pit each country’s No. 1 player against the other’s No. 2. Saturday will feature the two reverse singles matches – No. 1 vs. No. 1; No. 2 vs. No. 2 – followed by a possible fifth-and-decisive doubles match. A revised schedule for Saturday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.

The matchups and order of play for the weekend’s matches will be determined at the official draw ceremony, which will be held at noon local time on Thursday, February 6, at Angel Of The Winds Arena. Team captains may substitute up to two of their nominated players prior to Thursday’s draw.

Tickets are available at USTA.com/fedcup. Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage nationally in the U.S.

The winner of this matchup advances to the 2020 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals April 14-19 in Budapest, Hungary – a new format for the Finals similar to the World Cup in which 12 nations converge on one venue to compete for the title.

The USTA has partnered with local sponsors Amazon Prime Video, Funko and Avis. Fed Cup events have had demonstrative effects on the local communities they’ve visited in recent years. The U.S. hosted Fed Cup in Asheville, N.C., in 2018, an event that generated nearly $5 million in economic impact for the region and prompted Asheville to host Fed Cup again in 2019. San Antonio hosted a Fed Cup tie in April 2019, with an estimated economic impact of $3.5 million.

Williams, 38, last played Fed Cup in February 2018 in her competitive return to tennis following the birth of her daughter. She’s 13-0 in singles and 3-2 in doubles over 10 Fed Cup ties played since 1999, when she and sister Venus were a part of the Americans’ Fed Cup title-winning team. Williams won her 73rd career WTA singles title recently in Auckland, New Zealand.

Kenin, 21, is ranked No. 15 and has reached the Australian Open semifinals in Melbourne this week. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 12 in 2019, a breakout year in which she won three WTA titles and led the WTA in hard-court match wins (38).

Riske, 29, is ranked No. 19 and reached the 2019 Wimbledon quarterfinals, defeating world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the process. Riske finished 2019 ranked No. 18 in the world after beginning it ranked 63rd.

Gauff, 15, is ranked 67th but is projected to rise into the Top 50 after her run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, where she defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka. The youngest player in the Top 100 by nearly three years, Gauff made her splash debut on tour in 2019, becoming the youngest player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991. She would be the second-youngest American Fed Cup representative ever, after Capriati.

Mattek-Sands, 34, is a five-time women’s doubles and four-time mixed doubles Grand Slam champion. She’s currently ranked No. 23 in the world in doubles and won her 27th career WTA doubles title in with Kenin in Beijing last year. Mattek-Sands is 7-1 in Fed Cup doubles over 10 ties played for the U.S. since making her debut in 2009.

Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with approximately 100 nations taking part each year. The U.S. holds an overall 152-38 record in Fed Cup competition with a 42-7 record in home ties. For more information, including access to player and historical Fed Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/fedcup or www.fedcup.com.

Keep up with Team USA using hashtag #TeamUSATennis on Facebook (@USTA), on Twitter (@USTA), and on Instagram (@USTA). Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Fed Cup team. Deloitte is the official team sponsor of the U.S. Fed Cup Team.