Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. After losing to an up-and-coming Caroline Garcia and picking up a win against Virginie Razzano, Stephens and her partner Madison Keys lost to the two of them in the final doubles match to relegate the United States into World Group II the following year. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. In Toronto, she was defeated in the second round by third seed and world No. She lost in the first round to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova in three sets. [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. She excels at countering powerfully-hit shots, and is capable of turning defense into offense. 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. [293][294] She had previously dated fellow American tennis player Jack Sock for over a year. I either write tennis articles or play tennis with my friends. Francisco was an ex-Paraguay tennis player who retired in 1990 after claiming 10 Doubles and no Singles. [73] She lost in the next round to No. [97] She maintained a steady ranking all year, dropping no lower than No. ", "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? [141] At the US Open, Stephens was unable to defend her title, losing to Anastasija Sevastova in the quarterfinals in a rematch of last year's meeting at this tournament in the same round. 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. "[243], Stephens has a 27 record against Halep. [240], Stephens has a 16 record against Serena Williams, with three of their matches coming in 2013, other three in 2015 and one in 2020. 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]. While the 2017 US Open champion, 29, has had quite the packed . Required fields are marked *. On Thursday she elaborated on her coaching situation and told Tennis Now that she. [78] Her next successful tournament came in March at the Indian Wells Open. 5 in the world. [161] She fell in the second round to Leylah Fernandez. . [123][124] She also became the lowest-ranked US Open champion ever, and the fifth-lowest at any Grand Slam tournament. I'd love for both of us to be able to be in the position to play each other multiple times. She achieved a career-best ranking of world No. [105] She also lost in the first round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year, this time to a qualifier. [220], Seeded second at the first edition of the Mrida Open in Mexico, Stephens got her first win of the year by beating qualifier Lolia Jeanjean in the first round. [174] In Miami, she earned her first win of the season by defeating qualifier, Ocane Dodin, in the first round. 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! 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. [135] Stephens entered the French Open having never reached the quarterfinals. The following year at age 12, Stephens switched to the Nick Saviano High Performance Tennis Academy, and also began online homeschooling. 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. Saviano can be said to be one of those who greatly contributed to the development of Sloane. She defeated four unseeded players to make her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal and set up her second clash with Williams that month. She lost in the first round to 17th seed and world No. [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. [201] In Miami, she lost in the second round to 16th seed and world No. "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.. I am so honored to be featured among this amazing group on this year's Create & Cultivate 100 List in the Sports category! 2 seed in the WTT Playoffs. That is a definite contest. 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. 957. [276] At the 2021 French Open, she wore a striking all-black outfit, despite the heat. [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. She is now ranked 20th heading into Wimbledon, which begins . He has also been able to motivate Sloane to a title, won at the 2022 Guadalajara in Mexico. 28, finishing the season at No. In her first tournament back, she made it to the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International to set up an encounter with world No. [15], Roger Smith began coaching Stephens in early 2009 and worked with her for several years. She was eliminated in the first round by ninth seed Garbie Muguruza. Dec 21 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens has appointed Francis Roig as her new coach to revive her fortunes, after the veteran Spaniard left Rafa Nadal's team last week,. Sloane Stephens hires Rafael Nadal's former tennis coach. The reception was held at the St. Regis in Bal Harbour, Fla., in Miami Beach. During each tournament, she defeated four top 50 players including Lucie afov and 14th-seed Petra Kvitov at both events, and also No. She finished runner-up at the Canadian Open to Halep, her second high-level Premier final of the year. [96] At the US Open, she was seeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time that year but lost in the first round to compatriot CoCo Vandeweghe. 1 Swiatek", "Gauff bests Stephens at French Open, reaches first Grand Slam semifinal", "Katie Swan stuns grand slam winner Sloane Stephens in Bad Homburg", "Wimbledon: Zheng Qinwen defeats Sloane Stephens on Wimbledon debut", "Photos: Tomljanovic, Azarenka first-round winners in Washington", "Sakkari: Overcame Stephens' difficult test with a 2-1 set win", "Stat of the Day: Swiatek tallies 50th win of the season in Cincy", "No. 1 Barty at Volvo Car Open", "WTA Madrid 2021: Halep in the 3rd round, Osaka eliminated", "IN A ROME CLASH FULL OF SHIFTS, MADISON KEYS TOPPLES SLOANE STEPHENS", "Wang Qiang sails past Stephens to make finals of Emilia-Romagna open", "Sloane Stephens Upsets No. [95], Stephens did not play again until the Washington Open in August. 25, Jamie Hampton. Entering the Miami Open Sloane Stephens had lost eight of nine matches and hadn't won consecutive matches since the US Open in September. Kamau Murray(born 1980) is an American tenniscoach. [211], Stephens started her US Open series at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. She lost in the first round to Ajla Tomljanovi. [214] Ranked 51 at the US Open, she lost again in the second round to world No. [116] In the fourth round, she defeated No. 21 Sam Stosur in the semifinals and won the final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while only dropping three games. [134][225] They have also both been labelled as leaders of the next generation of American women's tennis. [18], At the French Open, Stephens extended her main-draw win streak to 16 matches in a row to start the season, despite needing to qualify for the main draw, before losing to French junior Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals. As the top seed, she was eliminated in the first round by lucky loser and world No. Stephens had entered the month having never reached a semifinal at a high-level Premier tournament. Seeded fourth, she overcame a bee sting to beat Magdalena Frch in the first round. By the end of the year, she fell to No. This time, Williams avenged her Australian Open loss in straight sets and went on to win the tournament. She played two singles matches and the decisive doubles rubber. ", "BNP Paribas Open March 13, 2010 Sloane Stephens", "Burdette and Stephens Fall in Doubles Final; Net Cord Decides Boys Doubles Champions", "Kudla and Van Nguyen Win Orange Bowl 16s Championships; Jenkins Meets Bhambri and Boserup Faces McHale for 18s Titles Sunday", "Stephens and Frank Collect International Spring Singles Championships", "More on NCAA Champions; Stephens Wins Italian Open", "A Teenager Bows Out and Looks to Wimbledon", "Junior Watch: Stephens Loses to Mladenovic", "Lauren Davis Upsets Third Seed Babos; Stephens Advances in Three Sets at US Open Junior Championships", "NCAA Individual Recap; Recruiting Class Rankings; ITA Kickoff Draft Complete; US Girls Fall in Paris; USTA's Sell Talks with Cronin", "June Aces; Kudla and Stephens Fall in Wimbledon Jr. Quarterfinals, while Britain's Golding and Robson Advance to Semis", "Sock and Kudla Vie For U.S. Open Boys Title; Gavrilova and Putintseva of Russia Will Decide Girls Champion Sunday", "Qualifying Underway at Sony Ericsson, US Juniors Not Faring Well; ISC Carson Acceptances", "Day One of US Open Qualifying; El Mihdawy Considers Tennis Future", "First Day of US Open Qualifying a Long One", "Gullickson Draws Wozniacki in US Open First Round; Qualifying's First Round Finally Complete", "Elsewhere in Tennis.Devvarman Wins Rochester, Embree Takes Wichita, Keys Triumphs in Bahamas", "Buzz Pick All-USTA-Juniors Squad in World TeamTennis Draft", "Stephens gets first WTA Tour win at Indian Wells", "Kudla, Stephens Win ATP, WTA Matches Tuesday; US Open Junior Fact Sheet; Rochester Futures Slideshow; Brad Stine Opens Junior Academy", "New Haven Open: Sloane Stephens on her way up", "Sloane Stephens: Disparity in results soon to be history? 3 in the singles rankings after the tournament. [192] In November, she played for the U.S. team at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. [232] After their first meeting in the second round of the 2015 Miami Open, their next two encounters were both two of the most important matches of their careers. [67][76] She finished the year at world No. Stephens started her season at the first edition of the Grampians Trophy. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? Stephens has a 5-2 record against Madison Keys, winning their first three matches in straight sets. She has no Doubles titles and has been ranked as high as 94 under the category. Halep won the first set of the match after saving four set points, two while serving at 65 and two more in the tiebreak. @livstone @katieledecky @coachsydcarter @recesspickleball @jordanchiles @melissamproctor @ariivory Head to @createcultivate to read my full interview and learn about the other 99 trailblazing honorees. 270, Renata Zaraza. 198. At the Bad Homburg Open, her first grass-court tournament of the season, Stephens was beaten in the first round by British qualifier Katie Swan. [72], At the Cincinnati Open in August, Stephens scored her second big upset of the year when she knocked out Sharapova, the No. 33 Julia Grges to advance to her first US Open quarterfinal and her first major quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2013. Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She notably defeated world No. [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. [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. [180] At the first edition of the Emilia-Romagna Open, she reached the semifinals where she was beaten by sixth seed Wang Qiang. 13 Ana Ivanovic in the third round and went on to reach her first quarterfinal at a Premier Mandatory event. [204] In Rome, she was eliminated in the first round by Ekaterina Alexandrova. During the time she won the US Open and made the final at Roland Garris, many made many comparisons and comparisons between Serena and. Her favorite surface is clay, on which she was a finalist at the French Open. 1 and eventual champion, Iga witek. 10 Inspirational Juan Martin del Potro Quotes, Sloane Stephenss achievements with different coaches. [79], Stephens returned to the United States Fed Cup team in April for their home playoff tie against France. 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. Even though they only met a few times in person, the two of them developed a close relationship remotely. 17 after the tournament. [91] Having struggled at the last three Grand Slam events, Stephens managed to upset world No. [186] In Montreal, she was beaten in the second round by top seed and world No. [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. 128 in the world. [181] Ranked 59 at the French Open, she stunned ninth seed and world No. 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. [45] Two of her biggest improvements came at two Grand Slam events. doTerra is a company that primarily sells essential oils, while Precision Nutrition provides coaching for diet and exercise. [172] Seeded ninth at the first edition of the Phillip Island Trophy, she suffered a first round loss at the hands of Varvara Gracheva. In her first appearance in 2008, she defeated world No. 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). [89] In 2017, Stephens defeated Keys in the final of the US Open to win her first major title. "[260][261][262], When Stephens was just starting to play tennis at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, one of her first instructors was Francisco Gonzlez, a retired professional tennis player once ranked in the top 50. [17], Stephens began competing in low-level events on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006 at the age of 13. The two have reuinted this year. Seeded sixth, she won her seventh WTA singles title by beating Marie Bouzkov in the final. 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. 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. Just relax, everybody. [166] This loss brought her record for the year to 1-7. 9 Venus Williams. They have organized programs in Compton, Fresno, and Fort Lauderdale. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Tennis Time tells you whats new in tennis life and what you cant miss. [288][289], Her favorite player growing up was Kim Clijsters, who congratulated Stephens in person after her 2017 US Open title. In the first such match, the French Open final, Halep came from a set down to defeat Stephens for her first Grand Slam title. The 29-year-old Stephens announced she's hired Francisco Roig as her new coach. During the tournament, she reached the semifinals, where she lost to No. Kamau also established a Tennis Programme named XS in Chicago. 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. 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. 6 in the world, her best year-end ranking to date. [47][45] In August, Stephens entered the Southern California Open as a wildcard and defeated No. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in total. [42][17] Her only other WTA Tour win that year came at the Swedish Open in July. Upon his recommendation, Stephens moved to Florida to train at an elite junior tennis academy. Seeded 13th, she lost in the first round to Zheng Qinwen. [154], Outside of the majors, Stephens best performance also came on clay at the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event. 21, Jessica Pegula.[202]. Their two biggest matches came in 2018, both of which were three set finals. Here's to a successful journey together, let's get to work," tweeted the 29-year-old American, who won her only Major title at Flushing Meadows in 2017. Murray also . At the Auckland Open, Stephens won her first tournament with the two of them together. 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. She returned to play and win her next match, but ultimately lost in the third round. [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. [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. The current coach and hitting partner of Sloane Stephens is Darian King. On the WTA results with. 17, Caroline Wozniacki, as well as the entire final against Julia Grges on the same day to claim the title. View. Happy to have Francis Roig . [168] Seeded eighth in Strasbourg, she was beaten in the first round by Nao Hibino. 37 in the world. Her game is commonly referred to as possessing "easy power" due to the seemingly casual nature in which she injects pace into her shots. Sloane started working with David in 2012 to help her qualify for the 2012 Olympics; however, she eventually missed out on this. [239][237] She also noted that she has read Serena's autobiography and respects her strong personality. No explanation was offered for the suspension of the successful coaching partnership. She reached the fourth round at Indian Wells, where she lost a three-set match to world No. Sloane Stephens(2015-19, 2019-21) Monica Puig(2019) Coaching achievements Coachee singles titles total 5 List of notable tournaments (with champion) US Open(Stephens) Last updated on: 7 April 2021. 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.