Quotes from Sofia Kenin

When I wasn't playing with Barbie dolls, I was always playing with different kinds of balls, and my dad said, let's try tennis.

Me, I'm a rising star for American tennis. I'm really proud to represent my country and hopefully I can keep going higher.

I've looked up to Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova. I followed their matches when I was little.

I tried not to focus on the fact that I'm playing Venus Williams and tried to focus on myself. To show that I'm Sofia Kenin is obviously the cherry on top.

Thank you to my parents for giving me the American dream.

Dreams come true. If you have a dream, go for it and it's gonna come true.

I can't go on the court crying because then it's a big advantage for my opponent, so I have to wipe my tears, have a good warm-up, feel the ball and then start grooving in the game.

Serena is such a great player and a true champion.

I feel like I'm doing some great things for American tennis.

It's not easy when you were so close to win the title and you lost it.

I love representing the US. I just love it.

Immigrant stories are good stories for everyone to know.

As I started developing, as I started playing more tournaments and getting higher in the rankings, I saw I had massive potential.

Grand Slams are four tournaments a year, so of course those are the big ones, those are the ones that people and us players want to do our best at. It's just high level quality of tennis.

Obviously, I want to do well in all tournaments, but if I had to pick, for sure Paris.

It's really great, winning some tournaments and leading the American group. It gives me a boost and a ton of confidence.

I wasn't into any other toys. I always liked to play with balls and with a racket.

It's not easy getting to a Grand Slam final.

Well, obviously it's clay. It's slower. You have to grind more. You move a lot more. You have to slide.

But it's always good to see youngsters taking over and playing great tennis. We have to get ready and prepare because they're going to play better against us.

I feel like mental toughness has been a huge part.

Obviously I'm missing the city life.

I love winning more than anything, so, yeah, winning.

I'm always with my dad, and he's my coach, and he just kept telling me, 'You have to keep motivated, try to keep motivated.'