Days after brutal 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin voices "still feisty" reality as she moves on in Charleston

Sofia Kenin's 2025 Miami Open outing ended disastrously as Coco Gauff dealt her a brutal 6-0, 6-0 thrashing. However, Kenin appeared close to her best in her first-round match at the ongoing Credit One Charleston Open, registering a straight-sets win against compatriot Bernarda Pera. Following her victory, the former World No. 4 spoke up about her attitude towards tennis.

Kenin and Pera's first-round clash at the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open took place on Tuesday, April 1. Despite hitting fewer aces (five) and making more double faults (six) compared to Pera (seven aces and two double faults), Kenin was more ruthless than her compatriot when it came to converting her break-point opportunities. The 26-year-old engineered eight break-point chances in total, converting three of them.

After registering a relatively comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win, Sofia Kenin spoke to Tennis Channel. She was asked if she was still the same player who became the Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up in 2020. Kenin answered (3:17 onwards):

"I feel like I need some more matches and a little bit more confidence. I feel like, just to find my groove a bit more and I feel like I'm getting closer to the feisty kid. I'm still feisty."

She recalled seeing compatriot Lauren Davis in action and revisited the American's on-court swagger.

"So, I can remember Lauren, I was always watching her at the time and it was Sony Ericsson or Sony Open. I was watching her. That girl was very fearless, walking with that sassy attitude on the court," Kenin continued.

However, Kenin acknowledged that nowadays, she isn't as "feisty" as she was when she tasted glory in Melbourne back in 2020. She optimistically concluded that given the right circumstances, her "feistiness" would reappear on the tennis court.

"A little bit (less feisty than how she was when she won AO). I'm trying to take things a little bit more easier and then when the time is right, you'll see the feistiness," she concluded.

In 2022, Kenin had reflected on the pressure she felt on her following her 2020 Australian Open title triumph.

"I personally put more pressure on myself because..." - When Sofia Kenin disclosed difficulties after Australian Open 2020 glory

Sofia Kenin with the 2020 Australian Open women's singles trophy (Source: Getty)

Sofia Kenin reflected candidly on her 2020 Australian Open title success and the tough times that followed in a 2022 interview with the official website of the WTA Tour. Once touted as one of the potential greats of women's tennis, Kenin, for the most part, failed to live up to expectations following an excellent 2020, at the end of which she was named the WTA Player of the Year.

"I felt more pressure from the outside. I tried to do my best, but obviously some nerves got the better of me. We should expect that, but I’ve been told by a few people that that’s normal coming off after a Grand Slam, a final, you have more pressure. I put more pressure on myself because I felt like I was expected to do it each time. That’s unrealistic unless you’re like Novak or like Rafa. Serena, too," Kenin said.

Ranked No. 44 in the world in singles, Sofia Kenin's next challenge at the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open is a second-round clash against No. 17 seed Belinda Bencic.