By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 9, 2021
The American spoke about parting ways with her father and coach for the first time in public at Rome.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson / Corleve
Sofia Kenin is in Rome and ready to take her place in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia draw, but there is a big difference. She’ll be without out her longtime coach and father, Alex Kenin, by her side for the first time.
The World No.4, who announced the split from her father last week on social media, told reporters that she is still coming to grips with the gravity of the decision.
“Obviously it was a difficult decision,” she said. “It wasn't easy. I give him credit to everything that he's done. We have had great success together. As I said, it was a difficult decision, but I felt that—you know, we both kind of agreed that it was time to part ways. So far it's going good. Yeah, I mean, it's obviously not easy, but I feel like this was the right decision for me and I'm excited to see what's gonna happen next.”
Agents Will Help Guide Her for Now
Kenin is currently without a coach in Rome, but she is joined by her agents in Rome. The American recently signed with GSE Worldwide, after parting ways with Top 5 Management.
“In terms of Rome and Paris I'm having my agents here, my agent is here, and they will be there in Paris,” she said. “I cannot really make any plans or anything. It's going to take time for me to figure out what I want, how I want things to be. It's just a matter of waiting the process and finally just, you know, enjoying myself back on court again.”
The American says it is too soon to have locked up a new coach, and she doesn’t seem to be in a big rush to do so.
“I mean, obviously this happened like a week ago or something, so I can't really comment on what's going to happen later,” she said. “Of course the team, people I trust, right now I'm surrounded by my agents who I trust a lot. They are going to be helping me and I really appreciate that. We'll all sit down, figure out what's the best way. But they obviously understand that. This whole process, these changes are quite emotional, so I have to be the one to decide how I want it to be and when I want it to be. We're all enjoying, we are going to enjoy and have fun and have some fun off court.”
On Kenin’s Terms
Kenin says that her motivation to move on from her dad was to get her life and her tennis on her own terms.
“I had great success with my dad, and I felt like now was the time for me to kind of like do what I wanted to do myself in terms of my tennis, my career,” she said. “That's why I decided that I had to part ways with my dad, but it's not -- you know, it's not like in the future we're not going to get back. We don't know what's going to happen. We'll see. I think for now I just need some time for myself, figure things, grow as a person and then, yeah, we'll just see what's gonna happen down the road.”