[158] This was her first loss to a player outside the top 200 since 2011. 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. She fell out of the top 20 upon losing her 2018 WTA Finals rankings points near the end of the season. [114][115][45], Stephens entered the US Open at No. Kamau also established a Tennis Programme named XS in Chicago. 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. Seeded 24th at the Australian Open, she was eliminated in the first round by Zhang Shuai, despite serving for the match in the second set. They played for a third time in 2021 at the US Open and Sloane prevailed in a third set tiebreak. Kamau Murray (left) coaches Sloane Stephens but that's not his only job. She then reached her first WTA semifinal at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. [66], Following the Australian Open, Stephens was forced to miss the United States' quarterfinal Fed Cup tie after aggravating her abdominal injury during her deep run at the tournament. During each tournament, she defeated four top 50 players including Lucie afov and 14th-seed Petra Kvitov at both events, and also 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? Although she reached No. As Sloane Stephens plays in the French Open, the second Grand Slam event of the year, she has regrets about having competed at the first one. Stephens also earned acareer-high rank of No. [34] She would lose in qualifying the next two years as well. [26][27][28][29] Stephens also reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the singles events. Sloane Stephens hired Kamau Murray, left, last fall to lift her career. [69] She then lost to world No. 201, Arina Rodionova. 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. [267] At the start of 2015, she returned to her longtime junior coach, Nick Saviano. She lost her first two matches back, one to compatriot Alison Riske at Wimbledon, and the other to No. Next, she was supposed to play against Egypt's Mayar Sherif in the Monterrey first round; however, she withdrew from the tournament. She returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open singles title in her fifth tournament back. 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. [18] Her first breakthrough result came at the US Open in 2008, where she reached her first doubles final at a Grand Slam with Mallory Burdette. 10 Dominika Cibulkov. Francisco was an ex-Paraguay tennis player who retired in 1990 after claiming 10 Doubles and no Singles. [203] At the Madrid Open, she was defeated in the first round by Anhelina Kalinina. 3 Angelique Kerber. [15], Roger Smith began coaching Stephens in early 2009 and worked with her for several years. [99][100] Stephens would win two more WTA titles during the season. [89] In 2017, Stephens defeated Keys in the final of the US Open to win her first major title. Her mother was the first African-American woman in Division I history to be selected to the first team of All-American swimmers. Stephens also withdrew from her last match with a wrist injury. 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. 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. [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. [121] She then won their next meeting in the semifinals of the 2018 French Open to reach her second Grand Slam singles final. Stephens was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Sheldon Farrell, who married Smith in 1997 and worked as a business consultant. Her mother was the first African-American woman to be named a first-team All-American swimmer in Division I history. 109, Melinda Czink, while still only 15 years old, but was unable to advance to the main draw in any of these appearances. 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. Masha Maltsava/Lemon Perfect Sloane Stephens. "[61] Stephens improved on that result the following week with a semifinal at the Hobart International. [270][139] Stephens split with Murray during the 2018 offseason before reuniting with him in August 2019 shortly before the US Open. Sloane Stephens, Jozy Altidore married on New Year's Day. "[224] Both players have been ranked in the top 10 by the WTA. Naomi Osaka rallies to beat Sloane Stephens in return to Indian Wells. This loss snapped her streak of reaching the second week of every major since a third-round loss at the 2012 US Open. Sloane took Franciscos advice at 11 and proceeded to Boca Raton to train. [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. [241] Her only victory against Serena came at the 2013 Australian Open when she was still relatively unknown as a 19-year-old. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? [113], By August, Stephens's ranking had continued to fall to as low as No. [35][36] Stephens also received wildcards into the US Open qualifying rounds for three consecutive years. 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. 5 in the world. Just a week before the US Open, former champion Sloane Stephens has parted ways with coach Sven Groeneveld. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in total. A look at Sloane Stephens' Fresno ties", "WTA star Sloane Stephens expands youth programs in Fresno", "Tennis Pro Sloane Stephens Has Valley Roots", "Is Sloane Stephens the Future of American Tennis? The foundation is run by Stephens, her mother, and her uncle Ronald Smith. [281][282][283], Stephens has previously signed a deal with the American Express credit card company and was formerly an endorser of the Listerine mouthwash product. Roger, who only recorded three (3) Doubles titles during his career, led Sloane to 3 Doubles Grand Slams titles as a junior player and into the Worlds Top 100. 18, Emma Raducanu, in three sets. [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. 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. 24, and 2019 champion, Madison Keys, in the second round. 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. She favors her forehand, and will run around her backhand at times to play her stronger groundstroke. [138], Stephens is an all-court player, having reached the quarterfinals or better at all four majors. [137] Keys defeated Stephens for the first time in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Charleston Open. [33], Stephens often plays behind the baseline, relying on her athleticism to defend against her opponent's shots. She was eliminated in the second round by compatriot, seventh seed, and eventual champion, Danielle Collins. Halep won the first set of the match after saving four set points, two while serving at 65 and two more in the tiebreak. She finally did end her season upon being diagnosed with a stress fracture. She parted with him after the 2013 season in order to find a full-time coach. Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to secure a place in the 2014 World Group. [273][274], Stephens is represented by GSE Worldwide. In her first tournament back, she made it to the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International to set up an encounter with world No. 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! 15, Jelena Jankovic. August 2, 2022 2 Mins Read Stephens was born on March 20, 1993, to accomplished athletes Sybil Smith and John Stephens in Plantation, Florida. However, she got a lucky loser spot into the main draw. I either write tennis articles or play tennis with my friends. 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. Defending champion Naomi Osaka enters as the No. [50], With an improved ranking, Stephens was able to play WTA Tour-level events the entire season. [182] She lost in her fourth-round match to eventual champion Barbora Krejkov. [9][10], Stephens moved to her mother's hometown of Fresno in California at the age of two. [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. 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. [257] Stephens excels in point construction, and varies patterns of hitting in order to confuse opponents. 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. doTerra is a company that primarily sells essential oils, while Precision Nutrition provides coaching for diet and exercise. That is a definite contest. [157] At the first edition of the Adelaide International, she was defeated in the first round in straight sets by world No. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in total. 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.