World No.4 Sofia Kenin recently parted ways with her father, Alex Kenin, who had been her coach for a long time. The decision comes right ahead of the French Open 2021- a Grand Slam where she ended as the runner-up last year. It was surely not an easy decision for her, and she even reflected the same in her Instagram post.

While working with her father, Kenin managed to win last year’s Australian Open. However, the 2021 season hasn’t been that great for her, and perhaps, because of her poor season, she decided to make some changes to her coaching team.

In a recent interview, former American player Andy Roddick was asked how difficult it is to have a family member as a coach. Even though Roddick didn’t have any family members as his coach, he admitted that it is difficult to have one.

“I don’t know about the family member,” began Roddick. “That’s probably the only person I didn’t have as a coach. My brother traveled with me for a while. I don’t know what her relationship was.

“It’s difficult. I remember the last moment it was like, he was like, ‘ Man, I can’t do this anymore’ and I was like ‘I don’t know if I can either’ and luckily that was easier.”

Given that she has shared a professional relationship with her father for a long time, Roddick believes that working with the new coach would not be an easy thing for Kenin. He also stated that even though it might be the right decision for her, she would feel a little different.

“It’s going to be an interesting thing to compartmentalize the relationship and the appreciation she certainly has for her father with a clean slate and moving forward and having that void, even if you feel it is the right decision, it is something different,” added the former World No.1 player.

“Hope she gets off to a good start” – Andy Roddick on Sofia Kenin

Roddick believes that with the new change, Kenin will succeed at the Italian Open 2021. He also said that Kenin deserves to be happy on the tennis court and that he is hopeful that the change will work for her.

“I hope she gets off to a good start with this new kind of set-up in Rome. If she does, that will really help. Now, if she doesn’t play well in Rome and there are questions about her, it’ll just lead to a little more drama.

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“I hope that it goes smoothly for Sofia Kenin. She certainly deserves to be happy on the tennis court,” concluded Roddick.

The Italian Open 2021 will be the first tournament where the 22-year-old Kenin will play without her dad as her coach. She’ll try to make a comeback on the court and fans expect her to play some exceptional tennis. Will Kenin be able to conquer Rome this year?

“Have Decided to Part Ways With My Father”: Sofia Kenin Revamps Her Coaching Team