165 Facts About Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens was born on March 20,1993 and is an American professional tennis player.

Sloane Stephens achieved a career-best ranking of world No 3 after Wimbledon in 2018.

Sloane Stephens's stepfather was a competitive recreational tennis player and was her primary inspiration for beginning to play the sport.

Sloane Stephens moved to Florida to train at a tennis academy, ultimately working with Nick Saviano.

Sloane Stephens became a promising junior player, reaching an ITF junior ranking of world No 5 and winning three out of four major girls' doubles titles in 2010 with her partner Timea Babos.

Sloane Stephens switched to a new coach, Kamau Murray, under whom she returned to elite level and won three WTA titles in the first half of 2016.

Sloane Stephens returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open singles title in her fifth tournament back.

Sloane Stephens was awarded WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her successful season.

Sloane Stephens was born on March 20,1993, in Plantation, Florida, to Sybil Smith and John Sloane Stephens, both of whom were accomplished athletes.

Sloane Stephens's mother was the first African-American woman to be named a first-team All-American swimmer in Division I history.

Sloane Stephens is enshrined in the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame and recognized as the greatest swimmer in the history of the university.

Sloane Stephens's father was a Pro Bowl running back for the New England Patriots in the National Football League.

Sloane Stephens was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Sheldon Farrell, who married Smith in 1997 and worked as a business consultant.

Sloane Stephens has a younger half-brother, Shawn Farrell, who played baseball and football at Notre Dame High School outside of Los Angeles.

Sloane Stephens did not talk with her biological father until she was 13 years old, when he expressed interest in getting to know her after being diagnosed with degenerative bone disease.

Sloane Stephens's stepfather died from cancer in 2007, while her biological father died in a car crash in 2009.

Sloane Stephens moved to her mother's hometown of Fresno in California at the age of two.

Sloane Stephens 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.

Former top 100 player Francisco Gonzalez, the head of tennis at the club, recognized Sloane Stephens had impressive ability given her limited experience and recommended her to pursue more rigorous training opportunities.

Two years after she started playing tennis, Sloane Stephens relocated to Boca Raton in Florida.

Sloane Stephens began training at the Evert Tennis Academy founded by John Evert and run by his sister, International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert.

Sloane Stephens began competing in low-level events on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006 at the age of 13.

Sloane Stephens then finished the year with a semifinal appearance at the high-level Orange Bowl tournament, a Grade A event.

Sloane Stephens began 2009 by winning her first two tournaments of the year, the Grade 1 USTA International Spring Championships and the Grade A Italian Open.

At the French Open, Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens returned to play and win her next match, but ultimately lost in the third round.

In 2010, Sloane Stephens partnered with Timea Babos to win the doubles title at all three majors in which they participated.

Sloane Stephens reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the singles events.

Sloane Stephens's 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.

Sloane Stephens played her first professional events on the ITF Women's Circuit in late 2007.

Sloane Stephens received wildcards into the US Open qualifying rounds for three consecutive years.

Sloane Stephens defeated Lucie Hradecka in her first career main-draw match before losing to the defending champion, 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva.

Sloane Stephens continued to climb the WTA rankings during the 2011 clay-court season.

Sloane Stephens won her first professional singles title at the Camparini Gioielli Cup, a $50K event in Italy.

Sloane Stephens then made it through qualifying at the French Open to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut in singles.

Sloane Stephens then backed up that win by beating 23rd seed Shahar Pe'er.

Sloane Stephens then closed out the winter hardcourt season by qualifying for the Miami Open.

Sloane Stephens then reached her first WTA semifinal at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

Sloane 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 Cetkovska.

Sloane Stephens reached the third round at the Premier 5 Cincinnati Open, where she lost a tight match to world No 3, Agnieszka Radwanska.

Sloane Stephens lost in the third round to No 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.

Sloane Stephens later stated, "I kept playing when I shouldn't have," as part of an effort to try to qualify for the Olympics.

Sloane Stephens ended up taking the rest of the year off to recover.

Sloane Stephens was ready to return for the Australian hardcourt season.

Sloane Stephens entered the Australian Open seeded 29th, her first Grand Slam tournament as a seeded player.

Sloane Stephens defeated four unseeded players to make her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal and set up her second clash with Williams that month.

Sloane Stephens was down a set and a break early in the second set, but came from behind to pull off a huge upset.

Sloane Stephens then lost to world No 2, Maria Sharapova.

Sloane Stephens continued her Grand Slam tournament success at Wimbledon by making it to the quarterfinals, again without defeating a seeded opponent.

Sloane Stephens lost in the next round to No 15, Jelena Jankovic.

Two weeks later, Sloane Stephens entered the US Open as the 15th seed, where she faced Williams again in the fourth round.

Sloane Stephens finished the year at world No 12 and was one of only three players to make it to the second week of all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2013, along with Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Sloane Stephens began 2014 at the Hopman Cup with John Isner.

Sloane Stephens withdrew from her last match with a wrist injury.

Sloane Stephens was able to recover in time to open her season at the Australian Open.

Sloane Stephens played two singles matches and the decisive doubles rubber.

Once again, Sloane Stephens did not have a good clay-court season, winning multiple matches in just two out of six tournaments.

Sloane Stephens did not do well at the US Open either, losing in the second round to world No 96, Johanna Larsson, while committing 63 unforced errors.

Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens entered the Australian Open unseeded and faced a difficult draw against Victoria Azarenka in the first round.

Sloane Stephens reached the fourth round at Indian Wells, where she lost a three-set match to world No 1, Serena Williams, who was returning from her long boycott of the tournament.

Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens notably defeated world No 9, Carla Suarez Navarro, in the second round for her first top-ten victory in almost two years.

Sloane Stephens closed the European season with a third-round appearance at Wimbledon.

Sloane Stephens won the tournament without dropping a set for her first career WTA title.

Sloane Stephens defeated No 21 Sam Stosur in the semifinals and won the final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while only dropping three games.

Sloane Stephens maintained a steady ranking all year, dropping no lower than No 45 while rising no higher than No 28, finishing the season at No 30 in the world.

At the Auckland Open, Sloane Stephens won her first tournament with the two of them together.

Part of her prize in Charleston included a car from the title sponsor Volvo, which Sloane Stephens was unaware of until after the tournament.

In contrast to previous years where Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens lost in the first round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year, this time to a qualifier.

Sloane Stephens finally did end her season upon being diagnosed with a stress fracture.

Sloane Stephens attended several WTA events in the United States including Indian Wells, the Miami, and Charleston, where she interviewed fellow tennis players and provided analysis.

Sloane Stephens lost her first two matches back, one to compatriot Alison Riske at Wimbledon, and the other to No 2, Simona Halep, at Washington.

Sloane Stephens was defeated by a top ten player in both semifinals, No 6 Caroline Wozniacki in Canada, and No 2 Halep again in Cincinnati.

Sloane Stephens had entered the month having never reached a semifinal at a high-level Premier tournament.

Sloane Stephens entered the US Open at 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.

Sloane Stephens then defeated No 17 Anastasija Sevastova to set up the first all-American semifinals at a major since Wimbledon in 1985, and the first at the US Open since 1981.

Sloane Stephens closed out the tournament by defeating Keys in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam tournament title.

Sloane Stephens became the first American woman other than the Williams sisters to win a major title since Jennifer Capriati won the Australian Open in 2002 and the first to win the US Open since Lindsay Davenport in 1998.

Sloane Stephens became the lowest-ranked US Open champion ever, and the fifth-lowest at any Grand Slam tournament.

Sloane Stephens finished the season ranked No 13 and was named WTA Comeback Player of the Year.

Sloane Stephens extended her losing streak to eight matches at the Australian Open.

Sloane Stephens defeated three top-ten players at the event, including No 3 Garbine Muguruza, and No 10 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round and quarterfinals, and No 5 Jelena Ostapenko in the final.

Sloane Stephens entered the French Open having never reached the quarterfinals.

Sloane Stephens did not carry any momentum into the grass-court season, losing at Wimbledon in the first round in her only event.

Sloane Stephens finished runner-up at the Canadian Open to Halep, her second high-level Premier final of the year.

At the US Open, Sloane 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.

However, unlike the previous year, Sloane Stephens was able to win two matches on the continent at the China Open.

Sloane Stephens then closed out the season by participating in her first WTA Finals in Singapore.

Sloane Stephens finished the season ranked No 6 in the world, her best year-end ranking to date.

Sloane Stephens reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, securing her first match wins at the tournament since 2014.

Sloane Stephens reached the third round at Wimbledon, despite having lost her previous two opening round matches there.

Sloane Stephens's 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.

Sloane Stephens ended her Grand Slam season with an opening-round loss at the US Open to qualifier Anna Kalinskaya.

Sloane Stephens fell out of the top 10 shortly before the US Open, and again afterwards.

Sloane Stephens fell out of the top 20 upon losing her 2018 WTA Finals rankings points near the end of the season.

Sloane Stephens lost in the first round to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova in three sets.

Sloane Stephens fell in the second round to Leylah Fernandez.

Sloane Stephens showed an improvement in form at the US Open.

Sloane Stephens was eliminated in the first round by ninth seed Garbine Muguruza.

Sloane Stephens started her season at the first edition of the Grampians Trophy.

Sloane Stephens lost in the first round to Leylah Fernandez.

Sloane Stephens was beaten in her second-round match by 28th seed and compatriot, Amanda Anisimova.

Sloane Stephens ended up losing in the quarterfinals to 15th seed and eventual champion, Veronika Kudermetova.

Sloane Stephens was eliminated in the first round by Madison Keys in three sets.

Sloane Stephens lost in her fourth-round match to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Sloane Stephens was defeated in the third round by Liudmila Samsonova in three sets.

Sloane Stephens was eliminated in the second round by compatriot, seventh seed, and eventual champion, Danielle Collins.

Sloane Stephens was defeated in the third round by 16th seed and 2016 champion, Angelique Kerber.

At the first edition of the Chicago Fall Classic, Sloane Stephens was eliminated in the first round by 13th seed Tamara Zidansek.

Sloane Stephens beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz during the tie against Spain.

Sloane Stephens lost in the first round to 17th seed and world No 18, Emma Raducanu, in three sets.

Sloane Stephens reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 by defeating 23rd seed and world No 24, Jil Teichmann, in the fourth round, before she was defeated by 18th seed, world No 23, and eventual finalist, Coco Gauff.

At the Bad Homburg Open, her first grass-court tournament of the season, Sloane Stephens was beaten in the first round by British qualifier Katie Swan.

Sloane Stephens started her US Open Series at Washington, DC where she lost in round one to Ajla Tomljanovic.

Two weeks after the US Open, Sloane Stephens played at the Emilia-Romagna Open.

Sloane Stephens lost in the second round to Danka Kovinic, in three sets.

Sloane Stephens was double bageled in her quarterfinal match by eventual champion Camila Giorgi.

Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens played singles for the Smash throughout the season, helping them to earn a No 2 seed in the WTT Playoffs.

In 2017, Sloane Stephens defeated Keys in the final of the US Open to win her first major title.

Sloane Stephens then won their next meeting in the semifinals of the 2018 French Open to reach her second Grand Slam singles final.

Sloane Stephens avenged her Charleston Open defeat in 2021, beating Keys in straight sets in the 2nd round.

Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens 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.

Sloane Stephens considered them to be friends when she was starting out on the pro tour, but described Serena as simply a colleague in early 2015.

In 2015, Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens then won their next two meetings in early 2013, including a first round match at the Australian Open as part of her breakthrough semifinal run at the event.

Sloane Stephens is an all-court player, having reached the quarterfinals or better at all four majors.

Sloane Stephens's favorite surface is clay, on which she was a finalist at the French Open.

Sloane Stephens 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.

Sloane Stephens often plays behind the baseline, relying on her athleticism to defend against her opponent's shots.

Sloane Stephens excels at countering powerfully-hit shots, and is capable of turning defense into offense.

Sloane Stephens's game is commonly referred to as possessing "easy power" due to the seemingly casual nature in which she injects pace into her shots.

Sloane Stephens has the ability to hit powerful winners as she takes large swings with her forehand.

Sloane Stephens excels in point construction, and varies patterns of hitting in order to confuse opponents.

Sloane Stephens has an uncharacteristic style of play compared to her fellow top-ranked American contemporaries.

Whereas the other leading Americans are some of the most aggressive players on the WTA Tour, Sloane Stephens has a more passive approach.

Sloane Stephens has been perceived as having a nonchalant attitude towards losing matches and striving to meet expectations.

When Sloane Stephens was just starting to play tennis at the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, one of her first instructors was Francisco Gonzalez, a retired professional tennis player once ranked in the top 50.

In June 2012, Sloane Stephens switched coaches to David Nainkin in order to try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Nonetheless, under Nainkin, Sloane Stephens had her breakthrough tournament at the 2013 Australian Open and reached a career-best ranking of No 11 in the world.

Sloane Stephens parted with him after the 2013 season in order to find a full-time coach.

Sloane Stephens replaced him with Paul Annacone, who is better known for coaching two of the greatest players in tennis history in Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Sloane Stephens became the first woman to be coached by Annacone.

Sloane Stephens 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.

Sloane Stephens has reached a new career-high ranking at No 3 in the world.

In Murray's absence, Sloane Stephens had worked with Sven Groeneveld for three months.

Sloane Stephens uses Head rackets, specifically endorsing the Speed line as of January 2023.

Sloane Stephens has appeared in television advertisements for Built with Chocolate Milk, a campaign to encourage chocolate milk as a recovery drink.

Sloane Stephens's other health-related endorsements include doTerra, Precision Nutrition, and Colgate.

Sloane Stephens has previously signed a deal with the American Express credit card company and was formerly an endorser of the Listerine mouthwash product.

Sloane Stephens was a brand ambassador for USANA, a nutrition company.

When she won the 2017 US Open, she recalled an instance at age 11 when her mother believed Sloane 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.

Sloane 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.

Sloane Stephens has cited her grandfather as her hero and one of her biggest influences growing up.

Sloane Stephens was a fan of the Williams sisters and kept a poster of Serena in her bedroom as a kid.

Sloane Stephens noted that she has read Serena's autobiography and respects her strong personality.

Sloane Stephens has worked with Soles4Souls, a charity that collects new and used shoes to give to children in poverty.

Sloane Stephens started the Sloane Stephens Foundation, which helps build tennis courts and set up after-school tennis programs for underserved students in conjunction with supplemental tutoring.

Sloane Stephens has been married to United States national soccer team player Jozy Altidore, who was one of her childhood friends in Florida, since 1 January 2022.

Sloane Stephens had previously dated fellow American tennis player Jack Sock for over a year.

In late 2017, Sloane Stephens graduated from Indiana University East with a bachelor's degree in communications studies.

Sloane Stephens finished her degree while recovering from foot surgery earlier in the year.