[218] Seeded fourth at the Hobart International, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier, compatriot, and eventual champion, Lauren Davis. [130][45], Stephens extended her losing streak to eight matches at the Australian Open. [41] Although she seldom played on the pro tour that year, Stephens decided to turn pro in October following a strong junior season. [128] This was the first title for the United States since 2000. [246] Both of these wins came before Halep entered the top ten in 2014. She lost in the first round to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova in three sets. 11 in the world, had been coached by Sven Groeneveld since Maybut announced the end of that partnershipMonday. [241] Her only victory against Serena came at the 2013 Australian Open when she was still relatively unknown as a 19-year-old. [210] At Wimbledon, she lost in the first round to Zheng Qinwen. [34] She would lose in qualifying the next two years as well. [46] She then made it through qualifying at the French Open to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut in singles. [222], Stephens has played five seasons with World TeamTennis starting in 2009 when she debuted in the league with the New York Buzz, followed by a season each with the Washington Kastles in 2014, the Philadelphia Freedoms in 2017 and 2018, and the New York Empire in 2019. After Stephens was able to push the match to three sets Halep was able to regroup and win the match. [141][249] Prior to these finals, Stephens had never lost a final on the WTA Tour. She notably defeated 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. Kamau Murray Coaches Sloane Stephens And Kids On Chicago's - WBUR [258][259], Stephens has been perceived as having a nonchalant attitude towards losing matches and striving to meet expectations. Stephens has a 5-2 record against Madison Keys, winning their first three matches in straight sets. She returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open singles title in her fifth tournament back. [188] Ranked 66 at the US Open, she won a tight three-set first-round match over 2017 finalist Madison Keys. Sloane Stephens was born on March 20, 1993, in Plantation, Florida to sporting parents. [297] She finished her degree while recovering from foot surgery earlier in the year. With Colgate, Stephens is a part of their Bright Smiles, Bright Futures campaign that focuses on educating children about oral hygiene. Mental Health Is on Sloane Stephens's Mind, Too - The New York Times [238][239] Nonetheless, Stephens has said the two of them still had a good relationship. ", "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? [52] In late April, Stephens made her Fed Cup debut in an away playoff tie against Ukraine. Sloane Stephens reunites with coach Kamau Murray | Tennis.com "Happy to have Francis Roig join my team as my new coach! [54] Finally, she produced her best result at a Grand Slam tournament to date by reaching the fourth round at the French Open. 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. "[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. She has no Doubles titles and has been ranked as high as 94 under the category. 270, Renata Zaraza. 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%. [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. [149] She finished the season ranked No. [165] At the Cincinnati Open, she was defeated in the first round by Caroline Garcia. [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. She is one of the few black Americans after the Williams sisters that have been ranked among the Worlds Top 10 female tennis players. [157] At the first edition of the Adelaide International, she was defeated in the first round in straight sets by world No. 4 Simona Halep in the fourth round. 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. [70] Stephens continued her Grand Slam tournament success at Wimbledon by making it to the quarterfinals, again without defeating a seeded opponent. He was ranked as high as 34 in the Singles and 22 in the Doubles category. [135] Stephens entered the French Open having never reached the quarterfinals. 128 in the world. [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. [84], Stephens returned from injury to start the season at the Auckland Open and the Hobart International, but lost in the second round at both tournaments. [179] At the Italian Open, she fell in the final round of qualifying to Tamara Zidanek. [67] She played in the Fed Cup playoff tie in April and lost her only match against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. Paul is popular for his time with 20 times Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer and 17 times Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras. [266], Stephens briefly worked with Thomas Hgstedt in late 2014. 15, Venus Williams, in the first round of the French Open in their first ever meeting. 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. She lost her first two matches back, one to compatriot Alison Riske at Wimbledon, and the other to No. [72], At the Cincinnati Open in August, Stephens scored her second big upset of the year when she knocked out Sharapova, the No. [226][227][228][229] In spite of their rivalry, the two have looked forward to their matchups, with Stephens saying, "Every time I get to play Maddy is great. Sloane Stephens 37 in the world. 25, Jamie Hampton. [6][25], In 2010, Stephens partnered with Tmea Babos to win the doubles title at all three majors in which they participated. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? 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. Coaching changes set to inspire - Roland-Garros - The 2023 Roland doTerra is a company that primarily sells essential oils, while Precision Nutrition provides coaching for diet and exercise. The title brought Stephens back into the top 30. Stephens was down a set and a break early in the second set, but came from behind to pull off a huge upset. The current coach and hitting partner of Sloane Stephens is Darian King. 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. 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. [204] In Rome, she was eliminated in the first round by Ekaterina Alexandrova. [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. [139], Stephens did not carry any momentum into the grass-court season, losing at Wimbledon in the first round in her only event. Her mother was the first African-American woman in Division I history to be selected to the first team of All-American swimmers. [264] Nonetheless, under Nainkin, Stephens had her breakthrough tournament at the 2013 Australian Open and reached a career-best ranking of No. [205] Seeded sixth at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, she was stunned in the first round by world No. 15, Jelena Jankovic. Stephens also reached a career-high ranking of No. Two days later, the 26-year-old tweeted that she and Murray have reunited. She finally did end her season upon being diagnosed with a stress fracture. Her successful year was cut short by a foot injury that kept her out for months. 3, Agnieszka Radwaska. She finished runner-up at the Canadian Open to Halep, her second high-level Premier final of the year.