While the best of the best have some time to rest during the off-season, those ranked lower need to fight for every point offered and so does Sofia Kenin.
Back in 2020, Sofia Kenin won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and subsequently played also the Roland Garros final. She climbed all the way to the fourth spot in the WTA Rankings, but she's really far from that at the moment.
Currently, the 24-years-old American is ranked 240th and so without a wild-card and protected ranking, she wouldn't be able to join a Grand Slam tournament. In attempts to boost her position in the WTA Rankings before the 2023 season starts, she has decided to play at WTA 125 event in Angers, France.
However, despite the event being WTA 125 tournament, Kenin's draw is incredibly hard as she will meet some very strong players on her way through the event. In the first round, the American drew Dayana Yastremska, former world no. 21, who beat her twice before and leads H2H by 2-1.
If the American passes this test, she will most-probably play against the second-seeded player in Angers and world no. 54, Anhelina Kalinina. Then, Kenin can meet 2013 Wimbledon finalist and former no. 12 Sabine Lisicki or former world no. 33 and juniors no. 1 Clara Tauson.
And the list of possible strong opponents doesn't end there for Kenin. She can also face likes of 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria, 2019 Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova or 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. The field in Angers is really strong and if the American wants to win, she will need to show her qualities as she did in 2020.
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