[65][241] All of their matches since have been contested at high-level Premier tournaments or Grand Slam tournaments. [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. He currently coaches Taylor Fritz. 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. 11 in the world. [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. 20, Julia Grges, en route to her first WTA quarterfinal. 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,. ", "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? 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. [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. "[243], Stephens has a 27 record against Halep. Around this time last year, Kamau Murray was having the. She was eliminated in the first round by ninth seed Garbie Muguruza. [67] She played in the Fed Cup playoff tie in April and lost her only match against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. [169] Seeded 29th at the French Open, she lost in the second round to Paula Badosa.[170]. In the round robin stage, Stephens swept her group of Naomi Osaka, Kiki Bertens, and Angelique Kerber to advance to the knockout stage. [45], She had foot surgery in January and could not walk again without a boot until the middle of April. Just a week before the US Open, former champion Sloane Stephens has parted ways with coach Sven Groeneveld. Although her ranking was high enough to qualify, she narrowly missed out on that goal as she was the fifth-highest ranked American with each country only being allotted at most four players in each draw. [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. Sloane Stephens has ended her coaching relationship with Paul Annacone after eight months, according to a release from the American's management company Wednesday. The American player, who competed in both the U.S. Open and the. Photo: Chris Smith/ Volvo Car Open. Stephens has a 5-2 record against Madison Keys, winning their first three matches in straight sets. [217], Stephens started her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Nonetheless, she finished the year as the youngest player in the top 50 at No. The news was "a complete surprise" to the No. [72] Nonetheless, her best result of the season came at the French Open, where she lost to No. Seeded fourth, she overcame a bee sting to beat Magdalena Frch in the first round. After the US Open, Stephens competed at the Italian Open. She lost in the third round to No. [45], In the off-season, Stephens hired Kamau Murray to be her new coach. Varvara Gracheva ousted Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match at the ATX Open on Friday. She defeated No. 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. Tennis icon Bollettieri, coach for 10 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? She is one of the few black Americans after the Williams sisters that have been ranked among the Worlds Top 10 female tennis players. [139], Stephens did not carry any momentum into the grass-court season, losing at Wimbledon in the first round in her only event. For longtime friends Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff, US Open faceoff Sloane started working with David in 2012 to help her qualify for the 2012 Olympics; however, she eventually missed out on this. [65] Although Stephens would lose her next match to world No. She achieved this ranking on the 16th of July, 2018. 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. 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. [99][100] Stephens would win two more WTA titles during the season. 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. [58] She also reached the third round at the Premier 5 Cincinnati Open, where she lost a tight match to world No. [204] In Rome, she was eliminated in the first round by Ekaterina Alexandrova. [19] She then finished the year with a semifinal appearance at the high-level Orange Bowl tournament, a Grade A event. [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. [88] Stephens then improved on that result with a quarterfinal appearance at the Miami Open, which included a win over rival Madison Keys in their first encounter. [12][13][14] Two years after she started playing tennis, Stephens relocated to Boca Raton in Florida. [267] At the start of 2015, she returned to her longtime junior coach, Nick Saviano. [62] She entered the Australian Open seeded 29th, her first Grand Slam tournament as a seeded player. [216] She lost in the second round to Danka Kovini, in three sets. 336. 5 and winning three out of four major girls' doubles titles in 2010 with her partner Tmea Babos. She demonstrated this type of mindset after her early 2014 US Open loss, saying, "I'm not gonna dwell on this. 109, Melinda Czink, while still only 15 years old, but was unable to advance to the main draw in any of these appearances. Her first upset of the tournament came in the second round over No. 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%. She did not get to qualify for the tournament since only four players were accepted from each country, and she ranked at number 5. [246] Both of these wins came before Halep entered the top ten in 2014. Sloane Stephens on Grandparents' Deaths, Australian Open - PEOPLE.com [133] With this performance, she also cracked the top 10 for the first time. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? [161] She fell in the second round to Leylah Fernandez. [32], Stephens played her first professional events on the ITF Women's Circuit in late 2007. [160] Seeded fifth at the Monterrey Open, she got her first victory of the year by beating compatriot, Emma Navarro, in the first round. [26][27][28][29] Stephens also reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the singles events. [251][252][253] She sometimes flattens out her shots, even on the run, and goes for stinging winners. Another opportunity for the both of us. 22 in the world. [136][137] Despite going up a set and a break, Stephens lost the final to world No. Seeded 26th, she won her opening two matches in straight sets before losing in the third round to third seed and six-time champion Serena Williams. [80] Once again, Stephens did not have a good clay-court season, winning multiple matches in just two out of six tournaments. [287] Stephens is of Trinidadian descent through her maternal grandfather Noel Smith, who came to the United States from Trinidad to pursue a career as a doctor. [189] She was defeated in the third round by 16th seed and 2016 champion, Angelique Kerber. Uli Seit for The New York Times "Every player that I have coached will affirm that I am a very clear. [72] The highlight of her clay-court season in the lead up to the French Open was the Fed Cup semifinals on the road against France, where she won both of her singles rubbers over Pauline Parmentier and Kristina Mladenovic to lead the United States to a 32 victory. In her first tournament back, she made it to the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International to set up an encounter with world No. [108] At the time of her last WTA event of the year at the end of July, Stephens was ranked No. [74] Two weeks later, Stephens entered the US Open as the 15th seed, where she faced Williams again in the fourth round. Sloane Stephens Beats Coco Gauff at the U.S. Open - The New York Times 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. She started training at the Evert Tennis Academy, owned by John Evert and run by his sister, Chris Evert. [51] Stephens then closed out the winter hardcourt season by qualifying for the Miami Open. The Coach and The Star Social Highlights UTS Testing Equipment The Eye of the Coach Legendary Racquets . (Courtesy of Othmane Garma) Comment on this story Her second title of the year also came on hardcourt at the Mexican Open. The reception was held at the St. Regis in Bal Harbour, Fla., in Miami Beach. [123][124] She also became the lowest-ranked US Open champion ever, and the fifth-lowest at any Grand Slam tournament. Sloane Stephens splits with coach Sven Groeneveld just before US Open Sloane Stephens reunites with coach Kamau Murray ahead of U.S. 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. Sloane Stephens is a long-time Rafa Nadal fan. [30][31] Her best singles result that year was a Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, where she lost to Daria Gavrilova in a third set tiebreak. She was also awarded WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her successful season. 10, Karolna Plkov, in the second round. Veteran Spaniard Francis Roig is set to be the new coach of former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. [16][295][296], In late 2017, Stephens graduated from Indiana University East with a bachelor's degree in communications studies. 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. [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. At the Auckland Open, Stephens won her first tournament with the two of them together. In Toronto, she was defeated in the second round by third seed and world No. [9][10], Stephens moved to her mother's hometown of Fresno in California at the age of two. 23, compatriot, and eventual finalist, Coco Gauff. 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. I'd love for both of us to be able to be in the position to play each other multiple times. 3 player in the world, in the second round. 28, Yulia Putintseva. [233][234][235][236] She grew up as a fan of the Williams sisters, but had lost some of her interest in them after they did not sign autographs at a Fed Cup tie that Stephens attended at age 12. [143][144] She then closed out the season by participating in her first WTA Finals in Singapore. 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. Thomas was able to win only a Singles career title before retiring from playing tennis.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'thetennistime_com-banner-1','ezslot_10',154,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thetennistime_com-banner-1-0'); After leaving Thomas, Sloane returned to her former coach, Nick Saviano. 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. Serena Williams, who reached the finalsof her previoustwo tournaments, is the No. [165] At the Cincinnati Open, she was defeated in the first round by Caroline Garcia. Heather Watson vs Sloane Stephens - Match WTA - ATX Open 2023 - Round Paul is popular for his time with 20 times Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer and 17 times Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras. During the time she won the US Open and made the final at Roland Garris, many made many comparisons and comparisons between Serena and. In the first tie, Slovakia beat the USA 21. She was eliminated in the second round by compatriot, seventh seed, and eventual champion, Danielle Collins. Stephens, ranked No. [52] In late April, Stephens made her Fed Cup debut in an away playoff tie against Ukraine. [50], With an improved ranking, Stephens was able to play WTA Tour-level events the entire season. [208] She was defeated in the quarterfinals by 18th seed, world No.