Sofia Kenin suffered an embarrassing moment during her exhibition match with Coco Gauff after losing a point to a ball boy allowed on the court to take a few shots.
Kenin has not played on the WTA Tour since the Miami Open in March because of a foot injury. The injury was severe enough to leave the American on crutches initially, but thankfully, she is over that now.
The 2020 Australian Open champion is on the entry list for the Citi Open starting next week. Many great players will be featured at the tournament, including Venus Williams, who will make her first singles appearance in nearly a year.
Kenin replaced Leylah Fernandez for an exhibition match at the Atlanta Open against Gauff. The Canadian is still recovering from an injury she sustained in the quarterfinal of the French Open.
Unsurprisingly, after being on the sidelines for so long, Kenin struggled against Gauff. The 18-year-old swiftly defeated her compatriot 6-1, 6-2, with the gulf between the two women clear from start to finish.
Unfortunately, losing heavily to Gauff was not Kenin's worst moment of the day. A ball boy was allowed on the court to play a few rallies, which is not unusual during exhibition matches.
The ball boy was better than Kenin and the crowd were expecting and was able to stay in the rally. Admittedly, the 23-year-old played within herself for the first few shots to extend the rally, but it did not end as she hoped.
Kenin hit a ball wide off a short slice from the ball boy. There were gasps of amazement from the crowd, and the American did not seem to be enjoying herself, probably feeling like it was an insult to injury after being unable to compete with Gauff.
Of course, this one moment does not define Kenin, who was one of the best players in the world during 2020.