Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Defending champion Naomi Osaka enters as the No. [94] Stephens closed the European season with a third-round appearance at Wimbledon. 13 Ana Ivanovic after struggling with a torn abdominal muscle, which was initially injured during her fourth-round loss at the French Open a few months earlier. She is now ranked 20th heading into Wimbledon, which begins . Required fields are marked *. Chicago will return to World TeamTennis this summer, with 2017 U.S. Open women's champion Sloane Stephens leading the expansion Smash. Although she was initially expected to only miss several months, it was later discovered that she would need surgery that would keep her out for the first half of 2017 as well. 22 in the world. [233][234][235][236] She grew up as a fan of the Williams sisters, but had lost some of her interest in them after they did not sign autographs at a Fed Cup tie that Stephens attended at age 12. [265] Although the pair worked well together, Stephens split with Annacone in late 2014 after not matching the success from her previous year that season. 21 Sam Stosur in the semifinals and won the final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while only dropping three games. [40], In the middle of 2009, Stephens participated in World TeamTennis as a member of the New York Buzz. [113], By August, Stephens's ranking had continued to fall to as low as No. Sloane Stephens's Coach Recommits to Craft After Health Scare. She has also reached a new career-high ranking at No. She then reached her first WTA semifinal at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Chris Evert was a top ex-tennis player with an incredible record of 89.97% (1309-146) in the Singles (second highest in the history of male and female tennis). Since then, she has risen to become a star, winning a total of 7 Singles career titles, including a Grand Slam and attaining a career highest ranking of 3. Kamau also established a Tennis Programme named XS in Chicago. 6 in the world, her best year-end ranking to date. [213] At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she lost in the second round to world No. [132] In March, Stephens returned to form and won the Miami Open, her first Premier Mandatory title. She has no Doubles titles and has been ranked as high as 94 under the category. Stephens, ranked No. She lost in the third round to No. 33 Julia Grges to advance to her first US Open quarterfinal and her first major quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2013. 2, Simona Halep, at the Washington Open. They became just the second pair of girls to win three Grand Slam tournament doubles titles in one season after Corina Morariu and Ludmila Varmuov in 1995. [103] Part of her prize in Charleston included a car from the title sponsor Volvo, which Stephens was unaware of until after the tournament. She demonstrated this type of mindset after her early 2014 US Open loss, saying, "I'm not gonna dwell on this. This loss snapped her streak of reaching the second week of every major since a third-round loss at the 2012 US Open. [206] At the French Open, she upset 26th seed, Sorana Crstea, in the second round. Sloane Stephens' Coach on 'Creative' Ways They Kept Up Her Training Regimen amid Pandemic Still, she says, "The pandemic has taught me to focus more on what I can control and less on what I cannot. Her former junior coach Chris Evert has questioned her motivation on multiple occasions and attributed stretches of inconsistency at various times in her career to her mentality. She defeated Lucie Hradeck in her first career main-draw match before losing to the defending champion, 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva. When she won the 2017 US Open, she recalled an instance at age 11 when her mother believed Stephens had high upside in spite of being told by an instructor at a junior tennis academy that she would be lucky to get a tennis scholarship to a Division II college. [200] At the Indian Wells Open, she fell in the first round to 2018 champion Naomi Osaka. She credits her time away from playing tennis that was spent on her studies and her job with the Tennis Channel for improving her perspective on being a professional tennis player.[250]. [65] Although Stephens would lose her next match to world No. [135] Stephens entered the French Open having never reached the quarterfinals. 306 and lucky loser, Nefisa Berberovi, in three sets. [88][93], Stephens and Halep have built a rivalry centered around their highest profile matches in 2018. They played for a third time in 2021 at the US Open and Sloane prevailed in a third set tiebreak. [88] Stephens then improved on that result with a quarterfinal appearance at the Miami Open, which included a win over rival Madison Keys in their first encounter. [106] Her last tournament of the year was the 2016 Rio Olympics, which ended with a first round loss to Eugenie Bouchard. [183], Ranked 73 at Wimbledon, Stephens upset tenth seed and two-time champion, Petra Kvitov, in the first round. Murray coached Stephens from 2015 until the end of the 2018 season, a span that included Stephens' unseeded run to the 2017 U.S. Open title, the first and only Grand Slam championship of her career thus far. [117] She then defeated No. She is one of the few black Americans after the Williams sisters that have been ranked among the World's Top 10 female tennis players. [176], Stephens began her clay-court season at the Charleston Open. Top 10 Best Midfielders In The World (2022 Updated), 30+ Best Photos of Sloane Stephens -Fashion|Bikini|On Court, Camila Giorgis Net Worth 2023 Prize money, Salary, Endorsements, 10 Things You Didnt Know About Iga Swiatek, Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2023: WTA Players Announced in Doha, With High Prize Money At Stake, 2018 Miami Open 2017 US Open 2016 Auckland Open 2016 Acapulco Open 2016 Charleston Open. On the contrary, Stephens has also shown the ability to use her mindset of not worrying about disappointing outcomes to bounce back from injury and poor tournaments. She upset eighth seed, world No. 802, she finished the 2010 season just inside the top 200 at No. IBM is already working with American stars Sloane Stephens and Frances Tiafoe -- neither of whom advanced to the third round of this year's U.S. Open -- to test out Coach Advisor, using them to . After two lopsided split sets, Stephens won a tight third set to reach her first Grand Slam singles final. 2 Angelique Kerber, who needed to retire in the second set due to an illness. She has since won five of her six titles, including three in 2016, her first major at the 2017 US Open, and her first Premier Mandatory title in 2018. 3 in the world and reached the 2018 French Open finals while working with Murray. Stephens and Murray went "on a break" -- in Murray's . ", "Keys leads next generation of American women at U.S. Open", "Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys Highlight New Wave of American Female Tennis Players", "W2W4 at US Open: Advantage Madison Keys or Sloane Stephens? 9 Venus Williams. She lost her first two matches back, one to compatriot Alison Riske at Wimbledon, and the other to No. Former top 100 player Francisco Gonzlez, the head of tennis at the club, recognized Stephens had impressive ability given her limited experience and recommended her to pursue more rigorous training opportunities. [254], Stephens has an uncharacteristic style of play compared to her fellow top-ranked American contemporaries. She lost in the first round of the Citi Open and the Rogers Cup before a second-round loss last week in Cincinnati, a disappointing stretch of matches entering what has been her most successful major tournament. After Stephens was able to push the match to three sets Halep was able to regroup and win the match. Darian is a Barbadian tennis player who is currently ranked 402 in the Singles and 282 in the Doubles. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. ", "Friday Tennis Blog: Americans at Miami Open; 2019 Groundbreaking on Football Field", "U.S. Tennis Champion Sloane Stephens Takes Center Court In 'BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK' Campaign", "Sloane Stephens: doTERRA Performance Advocate", "Precision Nutrition Athlete: Sloane Stephens An Inside Look", "Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Educational Program and The Sloane Stephens Foundation Serve Up Smiles to America's Youth", "Tennis Star Sloane Stephens Joins Time Warner Cable to Engage Young People in Math and Science", "U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens gives credit to her mom during heartfelt moment", "Caribbean Sports Round-Up Trinidad-Roots Sloane Stephens Upsets Venus Williams To Claim US Open Finals Spot", "Congratulations pour in for champion Sloane Stephens", "Sloane Stephens Announces Engagement to Boyfriend Jozy Altidore", "Jozy Altidore, Sloane Stephens make it work as sports power couple", "Sloane Stephens is dating US soccer stud", "Tennis Star Sloane Stephens Is Married to Soccer Player Jozy Altidore", "Stephens Graduates From Indiana University East", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sloane_Stephens&oldid=1142106944, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 15:01. [57], Back in the United States, Stephens played at the Citi Open in late July and made it to her second career WTA semifinal. While the 2017 US Open champion, 29, has had quite the packed . In her first appearance in 2008, she defeated world No. Othmane Garma, right, and Coach Kamau Murray, have helped Sloane Stephens regain her form after a number of injuries. [119] Madison Keys won the other semifinal against CoCo Vandeweghe. [141][249] Prior to these finals, Stephens had never lost a final on the WTA Tour. [279] She has appeared in television advertisements for Built with Chocolate Milk, a campaign to encourage chocolate milk as a recovery drink. [78] Her next successful tournament came in March at the Indian Wells Open. [63][64] This was the first top-ten victory of Stephens's career and made her much more prominent. This stretch notably included two matches at the year-end Elite Trophy as well as two singles rubbers in the Fed Cup final against Belarus. 44-ranked Puig, she continued. Her best Grand Slam performance was a quarterfinal loss to Johanna Konta at the French Open, where she could not defend her runner-up finish from the previous season. [174] In Miami, she earned her first win of the season by defeating qualifier, Ocane Dodin, in the first round. Her stepfather was a competitive recreational tennis player and was her primary inspiration for beginning to play the sport. [102] During the semifinals of this tournament, she defeated No. [208] She was defeated in the quarterfinals by 18th seed, world No. She has made the list of the Tennis International Hall of Fame, which is well-deserved considering her 157 Singles titles and 32 Doubles titles. "Happy to have Francis Roig join my team as my new coach! [241] In 2015, Stephens won the first set of their encounters at the Indian Wells Open and the French Open, but ultimately lost in three sets in both instances. [77] She was able to recover in time to open her season at the Australian Open. Emma Hruby Dec 22, 2022. [110] Stephens returned to the WTA Tour in July for Wimbledon, about eleven months after her last match and with her ranking having dropped to No. The American coach has worked with Sloane on two different occasions, although the second relationship was not so fruitful. Just a week before the US Open, former champion Sloane Stephens has parted ways with coach Sven Groeneveld. She finally did end her season upon being diagnosed with a stress fracture. [95], Stephens did not play again until the Washington Open in August. [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. Varvara Gracheva ousted Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match at the ATX Open on Friday. [138], Stephens is an all-court player, having reached the quarterfinals or better at all four majors. 11 towards the end of 2013, she regressed and stayed outside the top 25 to the end of 2015. Stephens also earned acareer-high rank of No. [194] The USA won the tie over Spain 2-1 to advance to the semifinals. [156] Stephens fell out of the top 10 shortly before the US Open, and again afterwards. [82], Stephens did not do well at the US Open either, losing in the second round to world No. [268] While working with Saviano, Stephens won her first WTA title, but did not manage to ascend back up the WTA rankings. Upon his recommendation, Stephens moved to Florida to train at an elite junior tennis academy. Sloane Stephens News Feed 'I'm Not About to a Video on Twitter' - American Senior Pros Refuse to Be Controversial as They Get Candid About Life on WTA Tour. To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended. When she returned to the court, this injury continued to hinder her performance as she did not defeat another top 50 opponent until after the clay-court season. Although she disliked that they were uninterested in signing autographs at a match she attended and has also commented that neither of them tried to serve as one of her mentors, Stephens has stated she developed a good relationship with the Williams sisters. He was ranked as high as 34 in the Singles and 22 in the Doubles category. Here are the individuals that have contributed to her growth.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'thetennistime_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',152,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thetennistime_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Sloanes first coach was an ex-top 50 tennis player, Francisco Gonzalez, who instructed her at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club. [50], With an improved ranking, Stephens was able to play WTA Tour-level events the entire season. After departing from Saviano for the first time in 2009, Sloane began working with an ex-Bahamas tennis player who turned coach, Roger Smith. 5 of '17: Stephens Emerges As Star After Beating Venus At US Open", "Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys Reach U.S. Open Final", "Sloane Stephens completes magical U.S. Open with win over Madison Keys in final", "Sloane Stephens surges past Madison Keys to win US Open title", "Venus and Serena's worthy successors have arrived", "U.S. Open 2017 Women's Final Predictions: Sloane Stephens vs. Madison Keys", "Sloane Stephens wins US Open title after straight-sets victory over fellow American Madison Keys", "50 for 50: Sloane Stephens, 2017 women's singles champion", "Strycova caps year with win as Stephens retires in Zhuhai", "USA claims 2017 Fed Cup after Belarus battle", "United States Ends 17-Year Drought With Fed Cup Victory", "Comeback Player of the Year: Sloane Stephens", "Stephens asks reporters to relax after loss to Zhang", "Acapulco: Sloane Stephens snaps eight-match losing streak", "Miami Open: Sloane Stephens beats Jelena Ostapenko to win first title since US Open", "Sloane Stephens beats Jelena Ostapenko for Miami Open title", "Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens Send U.S Into Second Straight Fed Cup Final", "All-American French Open women's semifinal has South Florida ties", "Sloane Stephens Subtly Defused Madison Keys In French Open Semifinals", "Halep lifts first Grand Slam trophy at Roland Garros", "French Open 2018: Sloane Stephens' final collapse could be a turning point in her career for the better", "Vekic stuns Stephens in first-round Wimbledon upset", "Halep survives Stephens in grueling battle to win Montreal", "Sevastova stops Stephens title defense in US Open QF stunner", "Stephens slides past Pavlyuchenkova in Beijing epic", "Stephens storms past home hope Zheng in Beijing", "Steely Stephens steers past Osaka in Singapore showdown", "Stephens snaps Bertens streak, Red Group wide open in Singapore", "Stephens stops Kerber to complete Singapore semifinal lineup", "Stephens completes stunning Pliskova comeback, seals Singapore final spot", "Elina Svitolina Beats Sloane Stephens to Win the WTA Finals", "Sloane Stephens wins her first Australian Open match since 2014", "Pavlyuchenkova beats Stephens to set up quarter-final with unseeded American Collins", "Johanna Konta blitzes Sloane Stephens to reach French Open semi-finals", "Johanna Konta roars back to knock Sloane Stephens out of Wimbledon", "Sloane Stephens upset by Anna Kalinskaya in first round of US Open", "Bertens stumps Stephens to make second straight Madrid final", "Fourth time's a charm for Madison Keys, who overcomes Sloane Stephens", "Stephens out in first-round boilover, Keys rolls on", "Aussie Rodionova authors Stephens upset in Adelaide", "History repeats as Zhang stuns Stephens again at Australian Open", "SLOANE'S STRUGGLE IS REAL: NO. In the first tie, Slovakia beat the USA 21. [285] Moreover, Stephens has worked with Time Warner Cable as part of their Connect a Million Minds campaign to motivate the importance of education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. [171] At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by 26th seed and world No. With Colgate, Stephens is a part of their Bright Smiles, Bright Futures campaign that focuses on educating children about oral hygiene. [51] Stephens then closed out the winter hardcourt season by qualifying for the Miami Open. Paul is popular for his time with 20 times Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer and 17 times Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras. [17], Stephens began competing in low-level events on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006 at the age of 13. [187] At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she lost in the first round to qualifier Caroline Garcia. 3 Angelique Kerber. [188] Ranked 66 at the US Open, she won a tight three-set first-round match over 2017 finalist Madison Keys. On Thursday she elaborated on her coaching situation and told Tennis Now that she. 110 Sloane Stephens Coach Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 110 Sloane Stephens Coach Premium High Res Photos Browse 110 sloane stephens coach stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [130][45], Stephens extended her losing streak to eight matches at the Australian Open. She fell out of the top 20 upon losing her 2018 WTA Finals rankings points near the end of the season. She switched to a new coach, Kamau Murray, under whom she returned to elite level and won three WTA titles in the first half of 2016. She defeated three top-ten players at the event, including No. Their relationship ended in 2012; David Nainkin. 9 Seed Karolina Pliskova in Straight Sets in 2R of French Open 2021", "Krejcikova routs Stephens to reach first Slam quarterfinal at French Open", "American Sloane Stephens upsets two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Centre Court", "American Sloane Stephens bounced in third round at Wimbledon by wild card Liudmila Samsonova", "Collins Conquers Stephens to Stretch Winning Streak to Seven", "INCREDIBLE! [114][115][45], Stephens entered the US Open at No. Tennis Time is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Stephens' coach, Chicago native Kamau Murray, will coach . The reception was held at the St. Regis in Bal Harbour, Fla., in Miami Beach. [207] She reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 by defeating 23rd seed and world No. [65][241] All of their matches since have been contested at high-level Premier tournaments or Grand Slam tournaments. [186] In Montreal, she was beaten in the second round by top seed and world No. Input your search keywords and press Enter. 3 in the singles rankings after the tournament. Similar to the case of Annacone, she also spent some time with Thomas after departing from Annacone. [98] Their partnership proved successful immediately. [75] Although Stephens continued to struggle outside of the majors after the US Open, she was named the second alternate for the WTA Tour Championships. The 29-year-old was born on the 20th of March, 1993, in Florida, United States (US), into a family with a strong athletics history. 3, 2021: French Open fourth round, out of top 50, 2022: First title since 2018, French Open quarterfinal, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 15:01, https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1605598193718161408, "For a Rising Tennis Star, a Connection, Then Dealing With Loss", "She beat Venus to reach the U.S. Open final. The title brought Stephens back into the top 30. 3 Garbie Muguruza, and No. She did not get to qualify for the tournament since only four players were accepted from each country, and she ranked at number 5. This was only the fourth time in the previous 47 Grand Slam singles finals where the winner of the first set was unable to win the match. I either write tennis articles or play tennis with my friends. He has won a total of 38 ITF titles, including 16 Singles and 22 Doubles. Darian has also represented Barbados at the Davis Cup and holds a record of 40-22 at the tournament. Sloane Stephens is a top-rated American female tennis player with a lot to offer and a potential successor to the retired Serena Williams. From there, she continued her training in Boca Raton, where she trained at Evert Tennis Academy before she made her way to Nick Saviano High-Performance Tennis Academy at 12. 13 Ana Ivanovic in the third round and went on to reach her first quarterfinal at a Premier Mandatory event. [138] Nonetheless, this run catapulted her to a career-high ranking of No. [167] This match garnered a lot of praise from tennis experts. [217], Stephens started her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. [15], After her stepfather's death, Stephens and her family moved back to their hometown of Fresno where her grandparents and other members of her mother's family still lived. According to the Aggression Score Metric, which measures a player's aggression based on how quickly they end points either through a winner, an unforced error, or an opponent's forced error, Stephens has a score of 19.4% which implies that 19.4% of her shots lead to one of those three outcomes. The Coach and The Star Social Highlights UTS Testing Equipment The Eye of the Coach Legendary Racquets . [175] She was beaten in her second-round match by 28th seed and compatriot, Amanda Anisimova. 83 in the world, and still needed to use a protected ranking to be accepted into the main draw due to the entry deadline being over a month before the event. Now she's won . Saviano can be said to be one of those who greatly contributed to the development of Sloane. [54] Finally, she produced her best result at a Grand Slam tournament to date by reaching the fourth round at the French Open. Seeded sixth, she won her seventh WTA singles title by beating Marie Bouzkov in the final. 17, Caroline Wozniacki, as well as the entire final against Julia Grges on the same day to claim the title. Kamau is arguably the most successful coach of Sloane so far since he led her to her highest career ranking and five out of the seven career titles she has won. Francisco was an ex-Paraguay tennis player who retired in 1990 after claiming 10 Doubles and no Singles. Kamau Murray. [6][25], In 2010, Stephens partnered with Tmea Babos to win the doubles title at all three majors in which they participated. [108] At the time of her last WTA event of the year at the end of July, Stephens was ranked No. [181] Ranked 59 at the French Open, she stunned ninth seed and world No. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in total. No explanation was offered for the suspension of the successful coaching partnership. [168] Seeded eighth in Strasbourg, she was beaten in the first round by Nao Hibino. Although she remained in the top 10 for the majority of the year in large part due to ranking points she was defending from the previous year's WTA Finals, she could not match her best performances at the Grand Slam tournaments or other higher-level events. [17], Stephens has worked with Soles4Souls, a charity that collects new and used shoes to give to children in poverty. [267] At the start of 2015, she returned to her longtime junior coach, Nick Saviano. Congratulations to all of these ladies! [5] Stephens's father was a Pro Bowl running back for the New England Patriots in the National Football League. [210] At Wimbledon, she lost in the first round to Zheng Qinwen. [52] In late April, Stephens made her Fed Cup debut in an away playoff tie against Ukraine. Stephens was born on March 20, 1993 in Plantation, Florida to Sybil Smith and John Stephens, both of whom were accomplished athletes. Your email address will not be published. [152] Konta also defeated her at Wimbledon. He currently coaches Taylor Fritz. Stephens also reached a career-high ranking of No. [35][36] Stephens also received wildcards into the US Open qualifying rounds for three consecutive years. [89] In 2017, Stephens defeated Keys in the final of the US Open to win her first major title. During each tournament, she defeated four top 50 players including Lucie afov and 14th-seed Petra Kvitov at both events, and also No. 17 after the tournament. 3, Aryna Sabalenka. [155] Aside from this tournament and the French Open, the only other event where she reached the quarterfinals was the Charleston Open at the start of the clay court season. [73] She lost in the next round to No. 10 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round and quarterfinals, and No. Williams entered the semifinal on a 20 match win streak, while multiple betting websites listed the 19-year-old Stephens as at least an 11-to-1 underdog. Seeded 24th at the Australian Open, she was eliminated in the first round by Zhang Shuai, despite serving for the match in the second set. "Sloane is in the best physical condition she's been in years," said Nick Saviano, a veteran coach who has long been a mentor to Stephens and watched her victory over Gauff on television.. [60], Stephens was ready to return for the Australian hardcourt season. Next, she was supposed to play against Egypt's Mayar Sherif in the Monterrey first round; however, she withdrew from the tournament. [45], Stephens continued to climb the WTA rankings during the 2011 clay-court season. [67] With Serena entering the match in excellent form and also having defeated her much younger opponent earlier that month, Stephens was listed as high as a 16-to-1 underdog. August 2, 2022 2 Mins Read Stephens was born on March 20, 1993, to accomplished athletes Sybil Smith and John Stephens in Plantation, Florida.