Sofia Kenin

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.