A furious Sofia Kenin was in no mood to give the crowd what they wanted in her chaotic first-round match at the Italian Open.
Kenin had been in dismal form in singles competition since the start of 2024, winning just one WTA Tour-level match from January to the start of May and losing nine matches in a row in between.
But the American's saving grace was that her doubles form masked that bad run in singles. She won the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi and the Miami Open while partnering with compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Kenin won a rare singles match at the WTA 125 event in Catalonia this past week but lost a tight three-setter in the subsequent round to Ashlyn Krueger.
The 25-year-old former Australian Open champion enjoyed a resurgent year in the second half of last season. It was like watching the Kenin of old. She earned some huge scalps over Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jelena Ostapenko, and Leylah Fernandez, to name a few.
Kenin also got her ranking moving in an upward trajectory, re-entering the Top 50 and moving within seeding spots for the Australian Open. But that good work was undone by her inconsistent 2024.
Last year, it was in Rome when Kenin kickstarted what looked like a career renaissance by defeating Sabalenka. This time, the American faced a much lower-ranked opponent than the Belarusian, who was feisty and cheered by a partisan crowd.
Kenin certainly did not approve of getting booed by the Italian fans when she complained about playing in the rain. She completely stopped during a game in the first set and engaged in a heated altercation with the umpire before a supervisor came on the court.
Far from impressed, Kenin was captured saying, "F*****g dumb a** people literally" after she was instructed to resume play. She immediately broke back Bronzetti and yelled, "F**k you" to the crowd.
At that point, the downpour had intensified, leading the umpire to suspend the match. The World No. 58 continued raging before storming off the court. When play eventually got underway later during the day, Kenin secured her first victory since January.
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