The rising tennis star talks work and play…
Donning a tank and white shorts for “FP tennis practice” at the Germantown Cricket Club, Sofia Kenin’s presence is as light as the ponytail high atop her head. She seems to be barely breaking a sweat as she volleys ball after ball after ball – effortlessly, mind you – and wearing a smile the whole time.
As the FP Movement team tried their own hand at tennis today, we learned that it is decidedly not effortless to make the game of tennis look so easy. Sofia (Sonya, as she’s called by friends) has trained basically her whole life — she started at the age of five — to be able to play like it’s second nature.
When she takes a quick water break, she greets me like a friend, laughing off how hot it is. A few fans who had stopped their own practices to watch her ask for photos, and she graciously poses with them and chats for a few minutes about her upcoming matches.
We sit down for lunch where she tells me when it comes to sweet treats, she’ll always reach for a cookie over fruit, and she definitely still gets nervous when playing even though she’s been doing it for so long.
Caitlin: What is your daily routine like on a training day versus a match day?
Sofia: For training I get up at like 8:45am – right now I have physical therapy at 9:30, then practice at 12:30, and some fitness training after. That’s Monday through Friday. After tennis and fitness I try to relax and take it easy a bit. For match days, my wakeup time depends on when I play, but I get up, warm up — of course, I’m a little superstitious for a match, so I like to get in a good warm-up so I feel more confident.
C: What about a day off?
S: On a day off I love to go to the beach and hang out with friends. Or go shopping. I love to shop. I like to spend some time with my family, drop by my parents’ place to see my dogs — just take it easy.
C: What do you do to get yourself in the zone to play?
S: I like to listen to fun pump-up music — anything that has good vibes!
C: Do you have any mantras/affirmations that you use to encourage yourself?
S: I just tell myself, “Take your time, deep breaths and trust the process.”
C: From where do you draw your confidence?
S: I’m used to the pressure and everything, but of course if I look over and I see my dad in the box, and everyone on my team there supporting me, that creates a good atmosphere to help me play better. It’s like we’re all in it together. I try to block out anything outside the box during a match, but sometimes I hear my fans cheering me on, and obviously I’ll take any luck they can give me.
C: Other than tennis, what do you like to do to stay active?
S: I haven’t boxed in a while, but I did it in Turks and Caicos and I loved it – I’d love to get back into that!
C: If you weren’t a pro tennis player, what do you think you’d be doing?
S: I’d love to do something in fashion – not a fashion designer because I can’t really draw – but maybe a stylist… I’ll come work for FP Movement!
C: What’s your favorite FP Movement style?
S: I love the skorts and I LOVE the leggings — the Good Karma leggings are so good.
C: What is a goal you hope to reach in the future — both in tennis and out?
S: In tennis: I’d love to be Top Ten — I don’t want to go too far and say number one — but, of course I’d love to be number one. Realistically, if I could be Top Ten I’d be more than happy.
And in life, health is always number one, of course.
Learn more about our FP Movement Ambassadors here.
As the FP Movement team tried their own hand at tennis today, we learned that it is decidedly not effortless to make the game of tennis look so easy. Sofia (Sonya, as she’s called by friends) has trained basically her whole life — she started at the age of five — to be able to play like it’s second nature.
When she takes a quick water break, she greets me like a friend, laughing off how hot it is. A few fans who had stopped their own practices to watch her ask for photos, and she graciously poses with them and chats for a few minutes about her upcoming matches.
We sit down for lunch where she tells me when it comes to sweet treats, she’ll always reach for a cookie over fruit, and she definitely still gets nervous when playing even though she’s been doing it for so long.
Caitlin: What is your daily routine like on a training day versus a match day?
Sofia: For training I get up at like 8:45am – right now I have physical therapy at 9:30, then practice at 12:30, and some fitness training after. That’s Monday through Friday. After tennis and fitness I try to relax and take it easy a bit. For match days, my wakeup time depends on when I play, but I get up, warm up — of course, I’m a little superstitious for a match, so I like to get in a good warm-up so I feel more confident.
C: What about a day off?
S: On a day off I love to go to the beach and hang out with friends. Or go shopping. I love to shop. I like to spend some time with my family, drop by my parents’ place to see my dogs — just take it easy.
C: What do you do to get yourself in the zone to play?
S: I like to listen to fun pump-up music — anything that has good vibes!
C: Do you have any mantras/affirmations that you use to encourage yourself?
S: I just tell myself, “Take your time, deep breaths and trust the process.”
C: From where do you draw your confidence?
S: I’m used to the pressure and everything, but of course if I look over and I see my dad in the box, and everyone on my team there supporting me, that creates a good atmosphere to help me play better. It’s like we’re all in it together. I try to block out anything outside the box during a match, but sometimes I hear my fans cheering me on, and obviously I’ll take any luck they can give me.
C: Other than tennis, what do you like to do to stay active?
S: I haven’t boxed in a while, but I did it in Turks and Caicos and I loved it – I’d love to get back into that!
C: If you weren’t a pro tennis player, what do you think you’d be doing?
S: I’d love to do something in fashion – not a fashion designer because I can’t really draw – but maybe a stylist… I’ll come work for FP Movement!
C: What’s your favorite FP Movement style?
S: I love the skorts and I LOVE the leggings — the Good Karma leggings are so good.
C: What is a goal you hope to reach in the future — both in tennis and out?
S: In tennis: I’d love to be Top Ten — I don’t want to go too far and say number one — but, of course I’d love to be number one. Realistically, if I could be Top Ten I’d be more than happy.
And in life, health is always number one, of course.
Learn more about our FP Movement Ambassadors here.
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