Tennis star Sophia Kenin announces she's dating coach Max Wenders in mushy Instagram post
Seeded 4th in the US Open, tennis pro Sofia Kenin left everybody shocked earlier this year when she announced she was no longer training with her longtime coach - her father Alex Kenin. Kenin had called the decision not an easy one for her at the time. But, it was soon revealed that the young tennis star had found a suitable person to train under — coach Max Wenders. Turns out, the match was suitable for more than professional reasons. The tennis pro celebrated her new coach's 26th birthday on social media, and Kenin made them 'Instagram official' as a romantic couple.
Announcing she was parting ways from her father as a coach in May this year, Kenin had reportedly written on Instagram: "I wanted to let everyone know that after many years together I have decided to part ways with my father as my coach. This was not an easy decision for me as we shared many great moments together and had a lot of success. I will be forever grateful for my dad’s sacrifice and contributions towards getting me to where I am today. I am excited for what the future holds and look forward to putting together a new technical team in the coming weeks ahead. I can’t wait to get back on the court next week in Rome," she had said ahead of the French Open.
Although Kenin never announced who she was teaming up with next after the sensational split, her Instagram story says it all with a super cozy snap of herself and Wenders in a tight embrace.
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When Wenders met Kenin
Identified as Max Wenders, Kenin new boyfriend is described as a 25-year-old tennis coach, in one news article. The Dutch trainer's long-term ambition of becoming a tennis coach rather than a player was firmed up at the young age of 15. After enrolling himself at an academy in Belgium, the teenage Wenders began coaching others kids on the side. He has been an assistant coach to Estonia's Anett Kontaveit and Dutch player Demi Schuurs. He also served as the hitting partner for 2018 Latvian French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in a WTA tour.
Wenders and Kenin's new relationship was made official on Instagram when the 22-year-old tennis pro wished her new beau for his birthday. The adorable photo of the couple saw Kenin hugging Wenders from the back, with him leaning on her chest in what looks like the backseat of a car. “Happy birthday, babe <3”, Kenin wrote as a text overlay for the photo, tagging Wenders's Instagram account. She added the #ily hashtag in the text, following it up with another Instagram story where the 2020 Australian Open champion wrote: “I hope you enjoyed your birthday. There’s more to come.”
Kenin and Wenders are super private
Wenders, born on August 15, 1995, keeps his Instagram account private, sharing photos only with his two thousand followers. Kenin, with over 200K followers on Instagram, is quite private too. Her social media usually only documents her professional success and accomplishments. Neither she nor Wenders have publicly addressed their relationship so far, barring that birthday post made by Kenin.
It is also unclear how their relationship went from professional to personal or whether the two were already together when Kenin decided to stop her father's coaching, or when she hired Wenders. However, Kenin's last match dated June 30 this year, was played after she and Wenders are believed to have become a team. The match saw Kenin surrender to world no. 79 Madison Brengle 6-2 6-4 in the 2nd round in Wimbledon. The match had ended in a draw, with Kenin compiling an 11-10 record this season.
Wenders, who has trained to be a seasoned player, has big shoes to fill as Kenin's coach. However, when news of her and her dad's split in the game made headlines, Kenin had revealed "I just need some time for myself." Looks like she has found what she was looking for in Wenders.