She lost in the first round to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova in three sets. After the US Open, Stephens competed at the Italian Open. 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. 92 to reach the fourth round. [177] She ended up losing in the quarterfinals to 15th seed and eventual champion, Veronika Kudermetova. Seeded 13th, she lost in the first round to Zheng Qinwen. (Elsa/Getty Images) This article is more than 3 years old. [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. [127] Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to give Stephens her first Fed Cup crown. [21][22] Following these big titles, she only played in the remaining junior Grand Slam events in 2009 and 2010, while also skipping the Australian Open. She excels at countering powerfully-hit shots, and is capable of turning defense into offense. [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. Sloane Stephens has added a new coach along with a new fiance this weekthe 25-year-old announced that Sven Groeneveld has joined her team. "I've known him for a really long time. Austin mayor Kirk Watson presents Sloane Stephens with the 2023 Catalyst award Thursday night along with a $250,000 check to her foundation that works to introduce tennis to young players . I either write tennis articles or play tennis with my friends. [108] At the time of her last WTA event of the year at the end of July, Stephens was ranked No. 15, Venus Williams, in the first round of the French Open in their first ever meeting. In contrast, Venus Williams is amongst the top 20% of most aggressive players, while Serena Williams, Madison Keys, and CoCo Vandeweghe are all in the top 10% with aggression scores above 25%. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. [293][294] She had previously dated fellow American tennis player Jack Sock for over a year. She fell out of the top 20 upon losing her 2018 WTA Finals rankings points near the end of the season. 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. [99][100] Stephens would win two more WTA titles during the season. Stephens and Murray went "on a break" -- in Murray's . Stephens's biggest rivalry is with her close friend and compatriot Madison Keys. [138] Nonetheless, this run catapulted her to a career-high ranking of No. Her father, John Stephens, was a former Pro Bowl player who played for a team in the National Football League, while her mother, Sybil Smith, was an accomplished swimmer who made history during college.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'thetennistime_com-box-3','ezslot_9',160,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thetennistime_com-box-3-0'); Sloane started playing tennis at the age of 9 alongside her mother and stepfather at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, located just some distance from her home. 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. Published Aug 21, 2019. Sloane Stephens Beats Coco Gauff at the U.S. Open - The New York Times She played two singles matches and the decisive doubles rubber. "[61] Stephens improved on that result the following week with a semifinal at the Hobart International. Sloane Stephens has ended her coaching relationship with Paul Annacone after eight months, according to a release from the American's management company Wednesday. [8] She has a younger half-brother, Shawn Farrell, who played baseball and football at Notre Dame High School outside of Los Angeles. Photo: Chris Smith/ Volvo Car Open. On our site youll find a variety of options to continue watching and talking about famous sportsmens,tennis tournaments and tennis gear. [284] She was also a brand ambassador for USANA, a nutrition company. 10 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round and quarterfinals, and No. [9][10], Stephens moved to her mother's hometown of Fresno in California at the age of two. [157] At the first edition of the Adelaide International, she was defeated in the first round in straight sets by world No. Her second title of the year also came on hardcourt at the Mexican Open. 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. 1 Iga Swiatek trounces former champ Sloane Stephens", "Quite a scene in Parma; Sloane Stephens overcomes bee sting, difficult opponent", "Parma Ladies Open: Maria Sakkari claims last-8 spot; Sloane Stephens exits", "Sloane Stephens falls to Masarova in opening Auckland contest; Sofia Kenin sets Gauff clash", "Sloane Stephens in early Hobart WTA exit", "Australian Open 2023 results: Maria Sakkari avoids a shock against Diana Shnaider", "Mrida Open: Stephens gets first win of 2023", "World TeamTennis Adds Stars Tiafoe, Puig, Roanic, Bouchard, & Sock As Rosters Set For 2020", "U.S. Open Loss Behind Her, Madison Keys Accentuates the Positive", "Madison Keys will crack top 10 in world rankings after reaching Birmingham final", "Why is it the American women are thriving at the US Open? [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. [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. [106] Her last tournament of the year was the 2016 Rio Olympics, which ended with a first round loss to Eugenie Bouchard. She finished runner-up at the Canadian Open to Halep, her second high-level Premier final of the year. Sloane Stephens had to think outside of the box when it came to staying competition-ready throughout the coronavirus pandemic . [276] At the 2021 French Open, she wore a striking all-black outfit, despite the heat. 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. Although she lost to Elena Baltacha, she rose to a career best No. Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to secure a place in the 2014 World Group. 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. [18] During the US Open, she left New York after her first match to attend her biological father's funeral in Louisiana. Varvara Gracheva ousted Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match at the ATX Open on Friday. She demonstrated this type of mindset after her early 2014 US Open loss, saying, "I'm not gonna dwell on this. Sloane took Franciscos advice at 11 and proceeded to Boca Raton to train. 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. 5 Jeena Ostapenko in the final. Because Halep has dominated their matches, Stephens has downplayed their rivalry, saying, "It's not a rivalry if you don't beat the person. 13 Ana Ivanovic in the third round and went on to reach her first quarterfinal at a Premier Mandatory event. [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. [279] She has appeared in television advertisements for Built with Chocolate Milk, a campaign to encourage chocolate milk as a recovery drink. Her first upset of the tournament came in the second round over No. She is now ranked 20th heading into Wimbledon, which begins . [141][249] Prior to these finals, Stephens had never lost a final on the WTA Tour. Sloane Stephens' Coach on How They Kept Up Her Training Regimen - Peoplemag Sloane Stephens, through Personal Tumult, Leads by Example [133] With this performance, she also cracked the top 10 for the first time. [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. [241] Her only victory against Serena came at the 2013 Australian Open when she was still relatively unknown as a 19-year-old. [58] She also reached the third round at the Premier 5 Cincinnati Open, where she lost a tight match to world No. 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. 2, Maria Sharapova. [152] Konta also defeated her at Wimbledon. [264] Nonetheless, under Nainkin, Stephens had her breakthrough tournament at the 2013 Australian Open and reached a career-best ranking of No. Stephens was defeated by a top ten player in both semifinals, No. She defeated four unseeded players to make her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal and set up her second clash with Williams that month. [221] She was double bageled in her quarterfinal match by eventual champion Camila Giorgi. [172] Seeded ninth at the first edition of the Phillip Island Trophy, she suffered a first round loss at the hands of Varvara Gracheva.