[171] At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by 26th seed and world No. She lost her first two matches back, one to compatriot Alison Riske at Wimbledon, and the other to No. [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. Her second title of the year also came on hardcourt at the Mexican Open. 17 after the tournament. . [114][115][45], Stephens entered the US Open at No. [11] Although she started out at the Evert Tennis Academy for a year working with John and Chris Evert, she then moved to the Nick Saviano High Performance Tennis Academy, where she stayed for several years. 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. 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. [49] With this third-round appearance, Stephens made her debut in the top 100 of the WTA rankings and also became the youngest player in the top 100 at 18 years old. [82], Stephens did not do well at the US Open either, losing in the second round to world No. [279] She has appeared in television advertisements for Built with Chocolate Milk, a campaign to encourage chocolate milk as a recovery drink. Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. [33], Stephens often plays behind the baseline, relying on her athleticism to defend against her opponent's shots. [180] At the first edition of the Emilia-Romagna Open, she reached the semifinals where she was beaten by sixth seed Wang Qiang. Without a permanent coach this year the world No.7 posted a 6-6 match record on Tour until appointing Sven Groeneveld ahead of her clay-court campaign. Entering the Miami Open Sloane Stephens had lost eight of nine matches and hadn't won consecutive matches since the US Open in September. 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. [45][67][75], Stephens began 2014 at the Hopman Cup with John Isner. 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]. At just 19 years old Sloan Stephens lived hers and won the 2017 US Open. [77] She was able to recover in time to open her season at the Australian Open. [118] Her semifinal was against No. 22 in the world. After the US Open, Stephens competed at the Italian Open. [78] Her next successful tournament came in March at the Indian Wells Open. 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. At the Auckland Open, Stephens won her first tournament with the two of them together. [187] At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she lost in the first round to qualifier Caroline Garcia. Varvara Gracheva ousted Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match at the ATX Open on Friday. [111][112] However, she showed some signs of improvement by reaching the doubles final at Washington with Eugenie Bouchard. [45] Two of her biggest improvements came at two Grand Slam events. [98] Their partnership proved successful immediately. [105] She also lost in the first round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year, this time to a qualifier. 3, Aryna Sabalenka. [53], After early losses at her first few clay-court events of the year, Stephens finished this part of the season with three impressive results. [81] In the grass-court season, Stephens was seeded 18th at Wimbledon, but suffered a first round loss to world No. [218] Seeded fourth at the Hobart International, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier, compatriot, and eventual champion, Lauren Davis. Chicago will return to World TeamTennis this summer, with 2017 U.S. Open women's champion Sloane Stephens leading the expansion Smash. [6][25], In 2010, Stephens partnered with Tmea Babos to win the doubles title at all three majors in which they participated. [206] At the French Open, she upset 26th seed, Sorana Crstea, in the second round. [154], Outside of the majors, Stephens best performance also came on clay at the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event. She is enshrined in the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame and recognized as the greatest swimmer in the history of the university. [18] During the US Open, she left New York after her first match to attend her biological father's funeral in Louisiana. She parted with him after the 2013 season in order to find a full-time coach. [11] She started playing tennis at the age of nine at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, a tennis facility located across the street from her house where her stepfather regularly played and her mother was taking lessons. [129] Stephens finished the season ranked No. She has never won a professional title on grass, and Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event where she has not made it to at least the semifinals. She defeated No. [250] However, most of her best results have come on hard courts, including her US Open and Miami Open titles, as well as six of her seven titles in total. [33] In the spring of 2008, she received a qualifying wildcard into her first WTA Tour event, the Miami Open, where she lost her opening round match. [67] She played in the Fed Cup playoff tie in April and lost her only match against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. 11 in October and became the second-highest ranked American. She is now ranked 20th heading into Wimbledon, which begins . [137] Keys defeated Stephens for the first time in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Charleston Open. [52] In late April, Stephens made her Fed Cup debut in an away playoff tie against Ukraine. Nainkin had also been working with fellow American Sam Querrey that year. Sloane Stephens reunites with coach Kamau Murray ahead of U.S. Open. [241] Her only victory against Serena came at the 2013 Australian Open when she was still relatively unknown as a 19-year-old. [275], Her clothing sponsor from 2010 was Under Armour and in early 2018 she signed with Nike. The 29-year-old Stephens announced she's hired Francisco Roig as her new coach. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. [212] This was her first loss to Tomljanovi, having led their Head to Head 6-0. [117] She then defeated No. [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. Darian has also represented Barbados at the Davis Cup and holds a record of 40-22 at the tournament. Because Halep has dominated their matches, Stephens has downplayed their rivalry, saying, "It's not a rivalry if you don't beat the person. As the top seed, she was eliminated in the first round by lucky loser and world No. [215], Two weeks after the US Open, Stephens played at the Emilia-Romagna Open. 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. [72] Her best Grand Slam tournament results of the year came at the French Open and Wimbledon, where she reached the third round at both events. Congratulations to all of these ladies! [214] Ranked 51 at the US Open, she lost again in the second round to world No. She was eliminated in the second round by compatriot, seventh seed, and eventual champion, Danielle Collins. [195] In the semifinals tie against Russia, she lost her match to Liudmila Samsonova. [19] She then finished the year with a semifinal appearance at the high-level Orange Bowl tournament, a Grade A event. [35][36] Stephens also received wildcards into the US Open qualifying rounds for three consecutive years. She notably defeated world No. [186] In Montreal, she was beaten in the second round by top seed and world 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. [168] Seeded eighth in Strasbourg, she was beaten in the first round by Nao Hibino. [266], Stephens briefly worked with Thomas Hgstedt in late 2014. However, she got a lucky loser spot into the main draw. [128] This was the first title for the United States since 2000. [248] Their next big match, the final at the Canadian Open, was ranked as the match of the year by the WTA. [286], Stephens credits her mother for supporting her career as a tennis player since she was very young. Saviano can be said to be one of those who greatly contributed to the development of Sloane. [208] She was defeated in the quarterfinals by 18th seed, world No. [44] Early in the year, she played in her first Australian Open main draw and made it to the second round. [263] In June 2012, Stephens switched coaches to David Nainkin in order to try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. He currently coaches Taylor Fritz. Whereas the other leading Americans are some of the most aggressive players on the WTA Tour, Stephens has a more passive approach. In her first appearance in 2008, she defeated world No. She fell out of the top 20 upon losing her 2018 WTA Finals rankings points near the end of the season. Sloane Stephens is "on a break" from her coach, Kamau Murray, Murray has told the New York Times. [140] Nonetheless, she moved up to No. Stephens started her clay-court season at the Charleston Open. She won her only match, a doubles dead rubber with partner Liezel Huber, as the United States won the tie 50 to return to the top-level World Group in 2013. I'd love for both of us to be able to be in the position to play each other multiple times. Their partnership grew from their friendship and is looking really fruitful.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'thetennistime_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',151,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thetennistime_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Darian has not had an exceptional senior career although his run at the ITF has been quite a feat. [59] Her final tournament of the year was the US Open. 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. Stephens's stepfather died from cancer in 2007, while her biological father died in a car crash in 2009. August 2, 2022 2 Mins Read Stephens was born on March 20, 1993, to accomplished athletes Sybil Smith and John Stephens in Plantation, Florida. [88][93], Stephens and Halep have built a rivalry centered around their highest profile matches in 2018. Now the Grand Slam champion is here to sh. 21, Jessica Pegula.[202]. Seeded seventh, she lost in the first round to qualifier Leylah Fernandez. [197], Stephens started her 2022 season at the Australian Open. She dismissed concerns about her form from the media, saying, "Everything's good. In 2018, she continued her success by winning her first Premier Mandatory title at the Miami Open, reaching a second Grand Slam singles final at the French Open, entering the top 10 for the first time, and finishing runner-up at the WTA Finals. Othmane Garma, right, and Coach Kamau Murray, have helped Sloane Stephens regain her form after a number of injuries. [93] In her only grass-court tune-up, Stephens made it to the semifinals at the Eastbourne International. [18] Her first breakthrough result came at the US Open in 2008, where she reached her first doubles final at a Grand Slam with Mallory Burdette. We aims to be available wherever and whenever you need it. [134][225] They have also both been labelled as leaders of the next generation of American women's tennis. He coached Sloane Stephens to a US Open title, but Kamau Murray's big goal is a youth tennis center in Chicago He's creating a pipeline of black tennis talent By David Mendell February 23, 2018 Tennis instructor Kamau Murray watches over Jabari Cooke, 15, at the non-profit XS Tennis Village in Chicago. 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. [280] Her other health-related endorsements include doTerra, Precision Nutrition, and Colgate. 37 in the world. [108] At the time of her last WTA event of the year at the end of July, Stephens was ranked No. The title brought Stephens back into the top 30. That is a definite contest.

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