Sofia Kenin was a Grand Slam champion and world No. 4 — what happened?

At just 27-year-old, Sofia Kenin should be in the peak of her career. That would mean challenging for Grand Slam titles and competing with the best in the world on a regular basis. On the contrary, she is in fact ranked 115th in the world and is desperately struggling for any sort of form.

Kenin was 21 years old when she won the Australian Open and climbed to No. 4 in the world. She looked like she had established herself as one of the leading players of the next generation. Instead, the years that followed became a struggle with injuries, confidence, form and consistency, sending her ranking tumbling and taking her away from the Grand Slam stage. Now she is trying to rebuild the career that once looked destined for much more.

Her first taste of success on the WTA Tour came all the way back in 2019 with her huge breakthrough occurring in 2020. Winning the Australian Open was the biggest moment of her career, outlining her immense potential and class on a tennis court. A run to the final of Roland Garros proved that it was no fluke, cementing her spot among the best.

Six years later, and she has made it past the third round in a major tournament once. Her career path had been laid before her by many, indicating a period on top of the world. How wrong they were. A sudden decline was followed by a min-rejuvenation. Not able to reach her prior powers, Kenin has got used to experiencing mediocrity, with her latest drop outside of the top 100 possibly spelling doom for her tennis career.

You take glance at other players who peaked too soon. Emma Raducanu for example. She was launched into the mainstream almost instantly with her US Open title run. A more recent example involves Maja Chwalinska. Ranked outside the top 100 going into Roland Garros before reaching the final in one of the most unlikely runs.

Kenin's Australian Open win was not like those ones. Born in Moscow, Russia, she moved to the USA after a few months where she was coached by her dad. Her talent was already being showcased, and she was moved to Florida to be trained by Rick Macci. He was extremely impressed with what he saw, putting her on the same level as five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis when she was a youngster.

The lofty expectations were something that Kenin has had to experience throughout her time at the top. Her first two ITF titles came with a much more tantalising reward: a wildcard for the 2015 US Open at the age of 16. It was her WTA Tour debut, and she would go on to lose against Karolina Pliskova in the first round. She made the return in 2016 with another opening match defeat.

2017 was the first indication of her potential. Slowly but surely, she was making a steady rise through the WTA rankings. Her performances on the Challenger and ITF Tour saw her climb from around the 200 mark to finish the year 108th in the world. Added to that, she also managed to secure her first WTA victories, Back in Flushing Meadows, she saw off Lauren Davis and Sachia Vickery before Maria Sharapova halted her run.

Still a youngster but with a lot of tennis already in her legs, she began competing against some more accomplished individuals. 2018 was the first year that she competed in all the majors thanks to her ranking. While on that topic, her top 100 debut was confirmed at Indian Wells. She was touted to be a mainstay in this coveted group, but events would pan out differently.

Her first WTA semi-final came via a maiden top 10 win over Carolina Garcia in Mallorca. She doubled that tally at the Wuhan Open with Julia Gorges defeated to confirm her place in the top 50.

If we are talking about a breakthrough year, 2019 may be the one. While slightly underwhelming compared to what will come, Kenin produced some lightning displays that got her name recognised. Her first WTA final came at the Hobart International, where she defeated Anna Karolína Schmiedlová while dropping just three games to break new ground. Two months later and she blew the chance of winning another title in Mexico. Titles number two and three came respectively in Mallorca and Guangzhou in three-set thrillers. She also tasted WTA 1000 success for the first time, albeit in the doubles at the China Open.

Kenin received the WTA award Most Improved Player of the Year. She was the first American to win it since a certain Serena Williams was awarded with this accolade back in 1999. Kenin finished 14th in the world. At the age of only 21, it was a promising start, but there was more to come right around the corner.

Now onto what Kenin is most famous for. Her Australian Open title came out of nowhere from the face of it, but was brewing with her knack of winning WTA titles from 2019 paying off. She stormed to the semi-finals where she was the second favourite on court in a number of ways. However, the World No.1 Ashleigh Barty was swept aside, and so was Garbine Muguruza in a complete comeback.

It was the best moment of her career, and the momentum and prestige that came with that was huge. Now a fully-fledged member of the top 10, this seemed to be the beginning of something special. However, worldwide events took priority. The COVID-19 pandemic saw tennis tournaments halted for a period of time. This was a huge blow for Kenin who would have hoped to be still competing with this new found immortality.

In a bizarre turn of events, the clay swing was re-scheduled after the US Open. Kenin could not keep up her major success at Flushing Meadows, but would find a lot of joy on the clay courts of Paris. While barely having any experience on the surface that year, this would not matter. She waltzed her way through the rounds, winning four three-set matches before Petra Kvitova was dealt with in the semi-final. She was in another Grand Slam final, and the huge favourite against an unknown opponent. Ranked 54th in the world, Iga Swiatek stunned the tennis world following a 6-4, 6-1 win over one of the pre-tournament favourites in the form of Kenin. However, her heroics on court were widely recognised. Kenin was awarded the WTA Player of the Year, recognised as one of the best players in the world. Kenin would need to relish these months at the top, because her world would soon come crashing down.

In truth, a number of reasons are behind Kenin's demise. She left Melbourne in tears following being upset by unseeded Kaia Kanepi in the second round, making it the earliest exit for a defending champion in that tournament since 2003. The pressure was getting to her, and she could not deal with it. She then backed it up by losing to Olivia Gadecki, whose career high ranking was 988th.

The rest of the year would be heavily impacted by injury. Out until April with after suffering from appendicitis, she parted ways with her father as a coach, but would join back up with him at the end of the year as her form continued to spiral out of control.

Her shoddy showing at Wimbledon can be put on the fact that her preparation was deeply affected with no tournaments being competed in beforehand thanks to injury. Nevertheless, a record 41 unforced errors in just 45 minutes was a dreadful and harrowing stat. She missed the US Open due to COVID-19 while tackling a foot injury that would become detrimental to her career.

The rankings had been frozen in this time, noting the fact that she finished 2021 in 12th. Reality would hit her hard at the start of 2022 as she plummeted down to 95th. Back at square one, a first quarter-final appearance for a year marked a possible stepping stone to launch herself off.

The exact opposite happened. She would win just one set in her next five matches. Injury also did its best to hold her back. She missed the French Open and Wimbledon in a period on the sidelines before being dumped out of the US Open in the first round. She culminated the year in 235th.

She had nothing to lose in 2023, and valiantly fought back. Her most notable results include a semi-final at the Guadalajara Open, which was stepping in as a WTA 1000 event. That proved to be a very fruitful period for her. She reached a first WTA final since the 2020 Lyon Open success at the Southern California Open.

Kenin was back in the top 30. A much more consistent 2023 had allowed her to firmly block out the 2022 nightmare. Still very young and coming into her peak years, the experience of winning on the big stage had not left her.

It took her until the Rome Open to seal a first singles win amid some doubles success. A first appearance at the French Open since 2021 brought a third round run. That was a good as it would get until later in the year when, as a wildcard, she competed in the final of the Pan Pacific Open. Title number six would have to wait as Zheng Qinwen prevailed in straight sets. Throughout this time, she has once more dropped out of the top 100, but her excellent run in Japan confirmed her status once more.

There were more signs to be encouraged in 2025, but the results were not consistent enough and too sporadic to challenge the best players in the world. Again ending the year around the top 100, severe gaps in her game left her exposed to players on court, although her quality was on for show at times. A quarter-final run at WTA 1000 level in Dubai was later followed by her 10th WTA singles final, and latest to date. Jessica Pegula bettered her in the Charleston Open climax.

2026 has again been a year to forget. While she continues to plug away, she has not won more than one match in any singles tournament while amassing just six wins, five of them in the main draw of events.

Reduced to falling back on wildcards and qualifying tournaments, this is not what people would have expected following her Australian Open title win. However, that is tennis. If you cannot compete with the best, then the consequences will come thick and fast. She never adapted to the pressure that would come with winning these big tournaments, showcased at the Australian Open. In the end, she could not clamber back up the order to a sufficient degree, seeing her only attempt back in 2023 ravaged by more poor form.

The way she plays relies on fitness levels being pristine. Labelled as a grinder by Sharapova, she is not the biggest hitter on the court, preferring to dart around the court while delivering sucker blows when she can. Flashes of confidence and skill have been shown, but the top 10 Grand Slam champion has been firmly locked inside of her with the now 27-year-old unable to find key to unlock it.

Her serve is seen as a very weak part of her game, and going the other way she is one of the worst returners on the WTA Tour, backed up by the stats which do not make for good reading if you are a Kenin fan. If you are playing Kenin, expect a higher volume of aces.

So what is next for the American. Ranked outside of the top 100, there is no clear indication that she will be returning anytime soon with the added matter of also staying in there, something she has failed to do for the past few years. Her injury record has not been great, but she has still played enough tournaments to keep her competitive. Her style of play makes her so vulnerable whether serving or returning that other players find it a joy to compete against her, as shown by her results.

Kenin will always be recognised as a Grand Slam champion. Nothing will take that Australian Open title away from her. However, prestige alone does not reap you all the rewards in tennis. If she does not find another gear soon, then Kenin could soon become a forgotten name in the sport.

The 2020 version of Sofia Kenin is not necessarily gone forever — but returning to No. 4 is an entirely different challenge from simply getting back inside the Top 100.