Sophia Zhuk is a young and promising Russian tennis player. Winner of six ITF tournaments, the former fourth racket of the world among juniors. Winner of the junior tournament at Wimbledon in 2015.
Biography
The future athlete was born on the first day of December 1999 in the Russian capital, Moscow. Sophia grew up as a very active child. Mom Natalia and dad Andrei decided to send the girl to sports at the age of three. The choice of the family fell on the rhythmic gymnastics section, but the daughter was afraid of stretching, besides, she admired her older brother, who had been playing tennis for a long time.
And from the age of five, Sophia moved to tennis. A talented girl quickly began to master the chosen sport, at a very tender age she began to perform in various tournaments and even win prizes. At the age of nine, Zhuk won the Russian tennis tour. But my brother, unfortunately, left the sport after a serious operation.
Sonya trained at the famous Luzhniki Stadium with other modern tennis stars. Sophia is still friends with Alexandra Kuznetsova, with whom they went to watch the Kremlin Cup in childhood.
Professional career
Before entering the professional level, the young athlete studied at the Belgian academy founded by tennis star Justine Henin from 2011 to 2016. Moreover, the offer for training came from the leadership of this famous sports school, which tracks talented young tennis players around the world. That same year, 12-year-old Beetle signed contracts with Wilson, sports agency IMG, Reebok, and the Merry Walk shoe chain to earn money for her studies. Sophia's personal trainer during the training was Olivier Jeanne.
The first resounding victory at the professional level came to Sophia at the age of 14. At the tournament, which was held in the Kazakh city of Shymkent, she beat compatriot Margarita Lazareva in the final with a score of 2-0. Zhuk became one of the youngest participants who managed to win the tournament at the ITF level. Before her, only two famous tennis players could boast of such an achievement: Dinara Safina and Justine Henin. In PROsport magazine, the young tennis player was immediately dubbed "Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka"
The following year, Beetle qualified for the Wimbledon tournament. At the tournament itself, the girl was able to reach the final, where she met with Anna Blinkova. In a bitter struggle, Sophia was able to win. In all matches, she has not lost a single set. Sonya Zhuk became the second Russian tennis player who managed to win the Wimbledon junior competition in London, where a very young athlete arrived with her mother. Before her, only Vera Dushevina distinguished herself with the same creative victory, who in 2002 beat the famous Maria Sharapova in the final.
By the way, in one of the interviews, the young athlete admitted that she is a fan of Maria Sharapova, and dreamed of winning Wimbledon from early childhood. Sophia often emphasizes that she never gets worried going out on the court, because playing tennis is real happiness for her.
In 2016, Zhuk made her debut at the highest level of women's competition. Thanks to the Wild Card from the organizers, she got the opportunity to take part in the WTA tournament, which was held in Miami. But despite the hopes placed on her, Sophia was unable to advance one iota in the tournament. In the first match, she lost to an experienced athlete from China Zhang Shuai.
In the spring of 2017, Zhuk won the American ITF stage, which was held in Naples. Having beaten the American Taylor Townsend in the final, Sophia won the main prize of the competition - $ 25,000. In the summer of the same year, a talented athlete won the tournament in Bursa, Turkey. This victory became one of the best in Zhuk's career.
In 2016, the athlete occupied the highest line in the ranking of professional tennis players, Zhuk was able to reach the 297th position. To date, there is a decline in the girl's career, and she occupies only 363 place. It is worth emphasizing that the failures of a young athlete are not only her personal mistakes and blunders, but also insufficient funding typical for Russian sports.
In 2018, Sophia shared her dream of playing in the main draw of the Grand Slam tournaments, but the latest results and her declining career are unlikely to allow the tennis player to fulfill her desire. She didn't even make it to the final of the American ITF tournament.
After her triumph at youthful Wimbledon, Beetle recklessly promised her fans to become the first racket in the world. Unfortunately, her recent achievements suggest that the girl can stay in big sports somewhere in the middle positions. Although in the history of tennis there are many cases of brilliant comebacks. Fans of the Russian blonde Sophia can only hope for such a miracle.
Personal life
Sophia Zhuk is a young and very ambitious athlete and at the moment she gives all her strength to tennis. The girl is very attached to her father and brother. She maintains a personal Instagram in English, where she uploads pictures of her vacation and her beloved dog, dreams of one day taking her father to the United States so that he never has to work again, willingly talks about her hobbies and past merits in an interview.
Sophia lives in Los Angeles and is not going to return to her homeland. She only comes to Russia every six months to get another visa and stamp her passport. The athlete willingly shares bright pictures in a swimsuit, they can also be found on her Instagram page, in addition to tennis, she loves golf and plays it at a pretty good level.
