[132] In March, Stephens returned to form and won the Miami Open, her first Premier Mandatory title. Kamau Murray coaching Sloane Stephens at last year's Open. She returned to play and win her next match, but ultimately lost in the third round. [45], Stephens struggled throughout the 2019 season. Tennis News. Stephens moved to Florida to train at a tennis academy, ultimately working with Nick Saviano. This loss snapped her streak of reaching the second week of every major since a third-round loss at the 2012 US Open. Keys has said, "Sloane and I, since we were 12 and 14, have constantly been compared to each other. Stephens had frequently been regarded as a potential successor to Serena Williams to become the next top American women's tennis player, if not the best in the world. [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. He currently coaches Taylor Fritz. [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. [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. Congratulations to all of these ladies! She defeated Lucie Hradeck in her first career main-draw match before losing to the defending champion, 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva. The foundation is run by Stephens, her mother, and her uncle Ronald Smith. The Coach and The Star Social Highlights UTS Testing Equipment The Eye of the Coach Legendary Racquets . 200711: Tour debut, entering the top 100, 2013: Major semifinal, Serena upset, world No. [37][38][39] During the summer of 2008, Stephens won her first professional title in doubles at a low-level $10K event in Wichita alongside partner Christina McHale. 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. [140] Nonetheless, she moved up to No. 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. 3 Angelique Kerber. 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. ", "US Open American teen Stephens upsets 23rd seed Peer", "Sloane Stephens, Vania King win at 2011 U.S. Open Thursday, lead resurgence of United States players", "Australian Open Sloane Stephens reaches second round", "Miami, Vinci promossa A casa gli altri azzurri", "Schiavone & Cornet's Strasbourg Revivals", "Stephens can't write fairy-tale ending at French", "2012 Wimbledon: Sloane Stephens Advances, Samantha Stosur Out", "Western & Southern Open Awards Wild Cards To James Blake, Sloane Stephens And Camila Giorgi", "What's in a name? 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. 92 to reach the fourth round. Another opportunity for the both of us. Murray had spent most of this season coaching Monica Puig, who was informed "at the end of last week" that Murray was moving on, she wrote in a statement toSporting News. She achieved a career-best ranking of world No. "[224] Both players have been ranked in the top 10 by the WTA. [200] At the Indian Wells Open, she fell in the first round to 2018 champion Naomi Osaka. [245] Stephens then won their next two meetings in early 2013, including a first round match at the Australian Open as part of her breakthrough semifinal run at the event. [263] In June 2012, Stephens switched coaches to David Nainkin in order to try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. She was eliminated in the first round by ninth seed Garbie Muguruza. [142], For the second straight year, Stephens began the Asian hardcourt season with multiple losses. In her first tournament back, she made it to the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International to set up an encounter with world No. Naomi Osaka rallies to beat Sloane Stephens in return to Indian Wells. [54] Finally, she produced her best result at a Grand Slam tournament to date by reaching the fourth round at the French Open. [193] She beat Nuria Prrizas Daz during the tie against Spain. She parted with him after the 2013 season in order to find a full-time coach. 28, finishing the season at No. Stephens started her clay-court season at the Charleston Open. [56] This string of performances brought her into the top 50 of the WTA rankings for the first time. She became a promising junior player, reaching an ITF junior ranking of world No. [15], Roger Smith began coaching Stephens in early 2009 and worked with her for several years. Photo: Chris Smith/ Volvo Car Open. Stephens and Murray went "on a break" -- in Murray's . [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. [35][36] Stephens also received wildcards into the US Open qualifying rounds for three consecutive years. She started training at the Evert Tennis Academy, owned by John Evert and run by his sister, Chris Evert. He also recorded a Singles title and three Doubles career titles during his time. Stephens has talked about her newly formed player-coach partnership with longtime friend Darian King this week. 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. Sloane Stephens is "on a break" from her coach, Kamau Murray, Murray has told the New York Times. Stephens also reached a career-high ranking of No. Stephens's stepfather died from cancer in 2007, while her biological father died in a car crash in 2009. [120] Stephens closed out the tournament by defeating Keys in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam tournament title. [85][86] She entered the Australian Open unseeded and faced a difficult draw against Victoria Azarenka in the first round. "[61] Stephens improved on that result the following week with a semifinal at the Hobart International. She finally did end her season upon being diagnosed with a stress fracture. [244] Halep won their first encounter in 2012 at the Barcelona Ladies Open. 28, Yulia Putintseva. [5] Stephens's father was a Pro Bowl running back for the New England Patriots in the National Football League. She ended up taking the rest of the year off to recover. [127] Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to give Stephens her first Fed Cup crown. [248] Their next big match, the final at the Canadian Open, was ranked as the match of the year by the WTA. [208] She was defeated in the quarterfinals by 18th seed, world No. The American coach has worked with Sloane on two different occasions, although the second relationship was not so fruitful. She lost in the first round to Leylah Fernandez. She was eliminated in the second round by compatriot, seventh seed, and eventual champion, Danielle Collins. 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. This time, Williams avenged her Australian Open loss in straight sets and went on to win the tournament. [251][252][253] She sometimes flattens out her shots, even on the run, and goes for stinging winners. She also started the Sloane Stephens Foundation, which helps build tennis courts and set up after-school tennis programs for underserved students in conjunction with supplemental tutoring. [74] Two weeks later, Stephens entered the US Open as the 15th seed, where she faced Williams again in the fourth round. [45], Stephens continued to climb the WTA rankings during the 2011 clay-court season. She defeated four unseeded players to make her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal and set up her second clash with Williams that month. 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. Sloane Stephens, Jozy Altidore married on New Year's Day. I am so honored to be featured among this amazing group on this year's Create & Cultivate 100 List in the Sports category! [117] She then defeated No. 10 Inspirational Juan Martin del Potro Quotes, Sloane Stephenss achievements with different coaches. The match win and her run into a Grand Slam singles semifinal garnered international attention and put her on the cusp of cracking the top 10 of the WTA rankings later in the season. [277], Stephens uses Head rackets, specifically endorsing the Speed line as of January 2023. [133] With this performance, she also cracked the top 10 for the first time. 9 Venus Williams. 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. During each tournament, she defeated four top 50 players including Lucie afov and 14th-seed Petra Kvitov at both events, and also No. [23] Mladenovic ended up winning the tournament, and would also defeat Stephens in their next encounter at the Wimbledon quarterfinals. [55] Stephens built on this momentum with a third-round appearance in her Wimbledon main-draw debut, which was highlighted by an upset of 23rd seed Petra Cetkovsk. Thomas is an ex-Swedish professional player and coach who has worked with many top players such as Tommy Haas, Magnus Norman, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Simona Halep, Madison Keys, and Johanna Konta. [275], Her clothing sponsor from 2010 was Under Armour and in early 2018 she signed with Nike. Emma Hruby Dec 22, 2022. [179] At the Italian Open, she fell in the final round of qualifying to Tamara Zidanek. Upon his recommendation, Stephens moved to Florida to train at an elite junior tennis academy. 4, Maria Sakkari. She considered them to be friends when she was starting out on the pro tour, but described Serena as simply a colleague in early 2015. She lost in the first round to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova in three sets. Sloane Stephens reunites with coach Kamau Murray ahead of U.S. Open. 2, Victoria Azarenka, for the second consecutive year. [123][124] She also became the lowest-ranked US Open champion ever, and the fifth-lowest at any Grand Slam tournament. Darian is a Barbadian tennis player who is currently ranked 402 in the Singles and 282 in the Doubles. [154], Outside of the majors, Stephens best performance also came on clay at the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, made it clear the future will have to wait as she dominated 17-year-old Coco Gauff in their first meeting. 44-ranked Puig, she continued. Top-Seed Aryna Sabalenka Battles Past Sloane Stephens at National Bank Open 2021 Round 2", "Halep claims first win since May in Cincinnati, Azarenka and Bencic triumph", "Sloane Stephens escapes with win over Madison Keys in Round 1", "Kerber beats Stephens in battle of former US Open champions", "Azarenka cruises in Chicago debut; Zidansek rolls past Stephens", "US Open champ Raducanu upset at Indian Wells; Murray wins", "Slovakia upset the U.S. at Billie Jean King Cup", "U.S. beats Spain to set up Billie Jean King Cup semifinal against Russia", "COLLINS AND STEPHENS BLAST RUTHLESS USA INTO BILLIE JEAN KING CUP SEMI-FINALS", "SAMSONOVA DOUBLES DOWN TO LEAD RTF TO BILLIE JEAN KING CUP FINAL", "Russians and Switzerland set up clash in Billie Jean King Cup final", "Emma Raducanu Rediscovers Winning Ways Against Sloane Stephens", "Stephens overcomes Bouzkova in Guadalajara, wins first title since 2018", "Sloane Stephens pulls out late from Monterrey", "BNP Paribas Open: Naomi Osaka rallies past Sloane Stephens in gusty first-round matchup", "Gauff and Rogers win, more seeded women fall at Miami Open", "Zheng Qinwen beats former champ Stephens in Charleston", "Djokovic downs Karatsev to enter Italian Open third round", "WTA roundup: Sloane Stephens bounced in France", "French Open: Sloane Stephens, Daria Saville score upsets in 2R", "Gauff, Stephens to play in all-American French Open QF; Pegula to face No. [141][249] Prior to these finals, Stephens had never lost a final on the WTA Tour. 802, she finished the 2010 season just inside the top 200 at No. [269] In the 2015 offseason, she replaced him with Kamau Murray. [99][100] Stephens would win two more WTA titles during the season. [174] In Miami, she earned her first win of the season by defeating qualifier, Ocane Dodin, in the first round. [212] This was her first loss to Tomljanovi, having led their Head to Head 6-0. [114][115][45], Stephens entered the US Open at No. While the 2017 US Open champion, 29, has had quite the packed . [43][44] After starting the year ranked No. Similar to the case of Annacone, she also spent some time with Thomas after departing from Annacone. [45], Stephens started her 2020 season at the Brisbane International. 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. She spent four years with Saviano before moving on and later reconciled with him in 2015.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'thetennistime_com-box-4','ezslot_5',153,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thetennistime_com-box-4-0'); Saviano was a former professional tennis player and popular coach known for his long-term relationship with the former worlds number 5, Eugenie Bouchard. [171] At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by 26th seed and world No. 198. Varvara Gracheva ousted Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match at the ATX Open on Friday. [9][10], Stephens moved to her mother's hometown of Fresno in California at the age of two. Her mother was the first African-American woman to be named a first-team All-American swimmer in Division I history. [46] She then made it through qualifying at the French Open to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut in singles. [71] Her best win at these two majors came in the first round of Wimbledon against world No. She also worked briefly with Paul Annacone and became the first female player to be coached by the famous American coach. She showed an improvement in form at the US Open. [254], Stephens has an uncharacteristic style of play compared to her fellow top-ranked American contemporaries. Paul is popular for his time with 20 times Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer and 17 times Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras. She played two singles matches and the decisive doubles rubber. 4 in the world, making her the first American woman other than the Williams sisters to be ranked in the top 5 in singles since Lindsay Davenport in 2006. Stephens was born on March 20, 1993 in Plantation, Florida to Sybil Smith and John Stephens, both of whom were accomplished athletes. Although she reached No. [65] Although Stephens would lose her next match to world 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. [44] Early in the year, she played in her first Australian Open main draw and made it to the second round. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? My whole life is about tennis. She has also reached a new career-high ranking at No. Gracheva won 7-6 (4), 6-3 in an hour and 51 minutes against . With these results, Stephens climbed back into the top 100 of the WTA rankings. [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. [45] With a higher seed, Stephens had a strong US Open series for the second consecutive year. . Sloane Stephens had to think outside of the box when it came to staying competition-ready throughout the coronavirus pandemic . [78] Her next successful tournament came in March at the Indian Wells Open. [17], Stephens has worked with Soles4Souls, a charity that collects new and used shoes to give to children in poverty. She won her first professional singles title at the Camparini Gioielli Cup, a $50K event in Italy. American professional tennis player Madison Keys, 24, is back at the US Open (she was defeated by Sloane Stephens at the finals in 2017), and on the heels of winning the Western & Southern Open. Coach. [188] Ranked 66 at the US Open, she won a tight three-set first-round match over 2017 finalist Madison Keys. [203] At the Madrid Open, she was defeated in the first round by Anhelina Kalinina. 1 and eventual champion, Iga witek. [7], Smith left Stephens's father after his multiple arrests in 1994. 20, Julia Grges, en route to her first WTA quarterfinal. [143][144] She then closed out the season by participating in her first WTA Finals in Singapore. [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. Here, Stephens upset No. 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. [6] Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry regarded him as the best athlete he had ever seen. [216] She lost in the second round to Danka Kovini, in three sets. Darian has also represented Barbados at the Davis Cup and holds a record of 40-22 at the tournament. 5 in the world. [95], Stephens did not play again until the Washington Open in August. 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. [156] Stephens fell out of the top 10 shortly before the US Open, and again afterwards. [108] At the time of her last WTA event of the year at the end of July, Stephens was ranked No. Stephens later stated, "I kept playing when I shouldn't have,"[60] as part of an effort to try to qualify for the Olympics. [268] While working with Saviano, Stephens won her first WTA title, but did not manage to ascend back up the WTA rankings. Stephens has a 5-2 record against Madison Keys, winning their first three matches in straight sets. [20], Stephens began 2009 by winning her first two tournaments of the year, the Grade 1 USTA International Spring Championships and the Grade A Italian Open. 2, Simona Halep, at the Washington Open. [63][64] This was the first top-ten victory of Stephens's career and made her much more prominent. [47][45] In August, Stephens entered the Southern California Open as a wildcard and defeated No. After the US Open, Stephens competed at the Italian Open. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. [238][239] Nonetheless, Stephens has said the two of them still had a good relationship. [16] From then on, she split time living in both California and Florida. Stephens's biggest rivalry is with her close friend and compatriot Madison Keys. [92] Serena then defeated her in the fourth round, which turned out to be Stephens's best Grand Slam tournament result of the year. 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. [182] She lost in her fourth-round match to eventual champion Barbora Krejkov. This score is average compared to other women's tennis players, and rates similarly to fellow Grand Slam tournament winners Justine Henin and Victoria Azarenka. 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. 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. 6 Caroline Wozniacki in Canada, and No. Stephens replaced him with Paul Annacone, who is better known for coaching two of the greatest players in tennis history in Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. [185], In August, Stephens played at the Silicon Valley Classic. 24, Jil Teichmann, in the fourth round. Sloane Stephens graduated from Indiana University East Class of 2017( Source : instagram) Further, Roger Smith started to coach her in early 2009, and she became a top-ranked junior with three Grand Slam tournament doubles titles. [288][289], Her favorite player growing up was Kim Clijsters, who congratulated Stephens in person after her 2017 US Open title. [106] Her last tournament of the year was the 2016 Rio Olympics, which ended with a first round loss to Eugenie Bouchard. In contrast, she has a more compact swing with her two-handed backhand. [113], By August, Stephens's ranking had continued to fall to as low as No. [183], Ranked 73 at Wimbledon, Stephens upset tenth seed and two-time champion, Petra Kvitov, in the first round. She upset eighth seed, world No. However, she was able to produce her best result at the tournament, making it to the final. She is enshrined in the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame and recognized as the greatest swimmer in the history of the university. [148] In her final match of the season, Stephens was able to win the first set against Elina Svitolina, but ultimately lost the match. Seeded second, she lost in the first round to qualifier and eventual finalist, Rebeka Masarova. [280] Her other health-related endorsements include doTerra, Precision Nutrition, and Colgate. On the WTA results with. [246] Both of these wins came before Halep entered the top ten in 2014. [6][25], In 2010, Stephens partnered with Tmea Babos to win the doubles title at all three majors in which they participated. [72], At the Cincinnati Open in August, Stephens scored her second big upset of the year when she knocked out Sharapova, the No. In Toronto, she was defeated in the second round by third seed and world No. 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. [67] She played in the Fed Cup playoff tie in April and lost her only match against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. Sloane Stephens hasreconnected with coach Kamau Murray days ahead of this year's U.S. Open, which Stephens won in 2017 while working with Murray. [45] Two of her biggest improvements came at two Grand Slam events. [104], In contrast to previous years where Stephens struggled at smaller tournaments while still doing well at bigger tournaments, she struggled at the Grand Slam tournaments and high-level Premier events in 2016. She returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open singles title in her fifth tournament back. 17, Caroline Wozniacki, as well as the entire final against Julia Grges on the same day to claim the title. But she was able to reach the semifinals of both Premier 5 tournaments that month, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.
