Australian Open 2022 -- Inside the quirky yet intense job of a USTA scout

Few expected Sofia Kenin to win the 2020 Australian Open.

She was the No. 14 seed and had never advanced past the fourth round at a major. The then-21-year-old American was barely on the radar.

But point by point and match by match, Kenin stormed through the draw, setting up the biggest clash of her career against World No. 1 and beloved local favorite Ash Barty in the semifinal. With the vocal Australian crowd surely to be against her, even Kenin's most ardent supporters knew it would be an uphill battle.

Kenin had a secret weapon, though.

With two days before the semifinal, the USTA's performance analytics group immediately got to work, putting together a video playlist emphasizing exactly what they believed she should do to beat Barty.

«Kenin sometimes has problems hitting her forehand down the line, especially under pressure, and she gets locked into crosscourts,» said David Ramos, the USTA's director of player development. «That's Barty's best shot. We thought if she could hit her forehand down the line and make [Barty] hit a backhand, and do that enough early, she could disrupt Barty's game plan and shake her confidence a bit.»

The strategy worked.

«In the early part of the first set, Kenin's hitting her forehand down the line, like 30, 40% of the time,» added Ramos. «You can see Barty looking over at her coach like, 'What is happening right now?'»

Kenin won the match 7-6 (6), 7-5 and went on to claim her maiden Grand Slam title two days later in the final against Garbine Muguruza.

While Kenin alone had to execute the game plan, the support she received from the USTA's scouts certainly helped her achieve her lifelong dream.

And the four-person team provides scouting reports like that ahead of every match for every