Kenin uncertain about defending Orange Bowl tennis title due to injury

The list of players who have won the Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship and gone on to stellar pro careers reads like a Who's Who.

Sonya Kenin may eventually take her place among them. But first the prodigy from Pembroke Pines has a chance to join Broward County's most prominent tennis product, Chris Evert, among the select few who have won back-to-back 18-and-under titles in the prestigious junior event.

That possibility was clouded Friday when Kenin strained a leg muscle in a match at the Eddie Herr tournament in Bradenton.

Alex Kenin, her father and coach, said Sonya was hopeful of a quick recovery but uncertain if she will be able defend her title in the Metropolia Orange Bowl, which begins Monday and continues through Dec. 13 on the clay courts at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation with competition in 18-and-under and 16-and-under divisions.

Kenin, No. 2 in the International Tennis Federation rankings of the world's top juniors, heads a stellar girls' 18s field in the 69th Metropolia Orange Bowl, the world's longest-running junior tennis tournament. Three 2015 Grand Slam junior champions are also entered: Hungary's Dalma Galfi (U.S. Open), Russia's Sofya Zhuk (Wimbledon) and Slovakia's Tereza Mihalikova (Australian Open).

Last year both 18s champions were from Broward as Stefan Kozlov, also of Pembroke Pines, took the boys' title. Kozlov is now competing on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost a three-set final to Kovloz in 2014, returns. But the top-ranked boys' entry is Norway's Casper Ruud, No. 5 on the ITF list.

The local hope among the boys is Alex Rybakov, of Coral Springs, who has committed to play college tennis at TCU. Another college-bound American is Nathan Ponwith (Georgia), of Scottsdale, Ariz. Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, U.S. Open doubles champ, is also entered.

The Orange Bowl tournament has the reputation of being a launching pad to pro success, with past champs including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Jim Courier, Andy Roddick and Anna Kournikova. More recently, Marcos Baghdatis (2003), Nicole Vaidisova (2003) and Caroline Wozniacki (2005) won while the event was contested on hard courts.

All of them claimed one 18s title before moving on to international fame in the pro ranks. Evert won in 1969 and '70 after taking the girls' 16s title in 1968. The most recent repeat 18s winner was Vera Zvonareva, in 2000-01.

Kenin was the No. 13 seed last year when she upset close friend Cici Bellis, then ranked as the world's No. 1 junior, in the semifinals and breezed past American Ingrid Neel in the finals. She went on to have a breakthrough season, gaining a wild card into her first Grand Slam main draw at the U.S. Open by winning the USTA National Hard Court Championships earlier this summer.

Although Kenin lost her opening match at Flushing Meadows, she reached the junior finals before falling to Galfi, now ranked No. 3 by the ITF. With Galfi seeded first and Kenin second, the two were on track for a finals rematch at the Eddie Herr, which always attracts many of the players who then travel across the state for the Orange Bowl competition.

That possibility unraveled Friday when a hobbled Kenin lost to Slovakia's Tamara Zidansek in three sets in the quarterfinals.

Hopefully, rest and rehab will get Kenin back on the court this week in Plantation and ready to try to match Evert's feat.