Next, she was supposed to play against Egypt's Mayar Sherif in the Monterrey first round; however, she withdrew from the tournament. That is a definite contest. She has cited her grandfather as her hero and one of her biggest influences growing up. Madison Keys, Boyfriend Bjorn Caught by Sloane Stephens Photos She started training at the Evert Tennis Academy, owned by John Evert and run by his sister, Chris Evert. Thomas is an ex-Swedish professional player and coach who has worked with many top players such as Tommy Haas, Magnus Norman, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Simona Halep, Madison Keys, and Johanna Konta. 2 Halep again in Cincinnati. Coach. [214] Ranked 51 at the US Open, she lost again in the second round to world No. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. [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. [178] In Madrid, she was defeated in the second round by Ons Jabeur. [291][13][292], Stephens has been married to United States national soccer team player Jozy Altidore, who was also one of her childhood friends in Florida, since 1 January 2022. The 29-year-old Stephens announced she's hired Francisco Roig as her new coach. Stephens, ranked No. [237] Her relationship with Serena became strained after their match at the 2013 Australian Open. She became a promising junior player, reaching an ITF junior ranking of world No. She upset eighth seed, world No. 3, Serena Williams. Two days later, the 26-year-old tweeted that she and Murray have reunited. To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended. [217], Stephens started her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. [141][249] Prior to these finals, Stephens had never lost a final on the WTA Tour. Defending champion Naomi Osaka enters as the No. [17], Stephens began competing in low-level events on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006 at the age of 13. "[61] Stephens improved on that result the following week with a semifinal at the Hobart International. Also, I like listening to Depeche Mode and walking my dog. On the WTA results with. [127] Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to give Stephens her first Fed Cup crown. In the first tie, Slovakia beat the USA 21. 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. [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. 6 Caroline Wozniacki in Canada, and No. [74] Two weeks later, Stephens entered the US Open as the 15th seed, where she faced Williams again in the fourth round. She demonstrated this type of mindset after her early 2014 US Open loss, saying, "I'm not gonna dwell on this. [136][137] Despite going up a set and a break, Stephens lost the final to world No. [174] In Miami, she earned her first win of the season by defeating qualifier, Ocane Dodin, in the first round. Nainkin had also been working with fellow American Sam Querrey that year. This tennis match is between Heather Watson and Sloane Stephens. Sloane has spent time with quite a couple of coaches and top ex-players during the course of developing into a professional player. They became just the second pair of girls to win three Grand Slam tournament doubles titles in one season after Corina Morariu and Ludmila Varmuov in 1995. However, she was able to produce her best result at the tournament, making it to the final. Former top 100 player Francisco Gonzlez, the head of tennis at the club, recognized Stephens had impressive ability given her limited experience and recommended her to pursue more rigorous training opportunities. He coached Sloane Stephens to a US Open title, but Kamau Murray's big [7], Smith left Stephens's father after his multiple arrests in 1994. Her favorite surface is clay, on which she was a finalist at the French Open. 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. 3, Aryna Sabalenka. [45], Stephens struggled throughout the 2019 season. [77] She was able to recover in time to open her season at the Australian Open. I'm just gonna keep improving and getting better and looking forward to the next tournaments. [248] Their next big match, the final at the Canadian Open, was ranked as the match of the year by the WTA. [87] Her first two successful tournaments of the year came at the Premier Mandatory events in March. He has won a total of 38 ITF titles, including 16 Singles and 22 Doubles. [171] At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by 26th seed and world No. Born to athletic parents with backgrounds in collegiate swimming and professional American football, Stephens was introduced to tennis at the club across the street from her house in Fresno, California. "Looking back on it now, I should have asked to. 22 in the world. He has also been able to motivate Sloane to a title, won at the 2022 Guadalajara in Mexico. [206] At the French Open, she upset 26th seed, Sorana Crstea, in the second round. Sloane Stephens Beats Coco Gauff at the U.S. Open - The New York Times [200] At the Indian Wells Open, she fell in the first round to 2018 champion Naomi Osaka. She was also awarded WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her successful season. However, she got a lucky loser spot into the main draw. Stephens was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Sheldon Farrell, who married Smith in 1997 and worked as a business consultant. [81] In the grass-court season, Stephens was seeded 18th at Wimbledon, but suffered a first round loss to world No. Just a week before the US Open, former champion Sloane Stephens has parted ways with coach Sven Groeneveld. Tennis Interviews Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams? [26][27][28][29] Stephens also reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the singles events. 4 Simona Halep in the fourth round. She credits her time away from playing tennis that was spent on her studies and her job with the Tennis Channel for improving her perspective on being a professional tennis player.[250]. 10 Inspirational Juan Martin del Potro Quotes, Sloane Stephenss achievements with different coaches. She notably defeated world No. Stephens was down a set and a break early in the second set, but came from behind to pull off a huge upset. [142], For the second straight year, Stephens began the Asian hardcourt season with multiple losses. [65][241] All of their matches since have been contested at high-level Premier tournaments or Grand Slam tournaments. [65] Although Stephens would lose her next match to world No. 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. She favors her forehand, and will run around her backhand at times to play her stronger groundstroke. 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. I'd love for both of us to be able to be in the position to play each other multiple times. Since then, she has risen to become a star, winning a total of 7 Singles career titles, including a Grand Slam and attaining a career highest ranking of 3. Heather Watson vs Sloane Stephens - Match WTA - ATX Open 2023 - Round Uli Seit for The New York Times "Every player that I have coached will affirm that I am a very clear. Stephens also reached a career-high ranking of No. [293][294] She had previously dated fellow American tennis player Jack Sock for over a year. 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. Her mother was a swimmer in Division I history. 28, finishing the season at No. Nonetheless, she finished the year as the youngest player in the top 50 at No. [193] She beat Nuria Prrizas Daz during the tie against Spain. IBM introduces new tennis tool to make the next Sloane Stephens at the Murray coached Stephens from 2015 until the end of the 2018 season, a span that included Stephens' unseeded run to the 2017 U.S. Open title, the first and only Grand Slam championship of her career thus far. 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. [273][274], Stephens is represented by GSE Worldwide. Sloane Stephens' Coach on How They Kept Up Her Training Regimen - Peoplemag [42][17] Her only other WTA Tour win that year came at the Swedish Open in July. [177] She ended up losing in the quarterfinals to 15th seed and eventual champion, Veronika Kudermetova. [196] In the end, Russia beat the USA 21 to advance to the final. Chris Evert was a top ex-tennis player with an incredible record of 89.97% (1309-146) in the Singles (second highest in the history of male and female tennis). [173], Stephens losing streak continued at the Monterrey Open. She won her first professional singles title at the Camparini Gioielli Cup, a $50K event in Italy. 5 of '17: Stephens Emerges As Star After Beating Venus At US Open", "Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys Reach U.S. Open Final", "Sloane Stephens completes magical U.S. Open with win over Madison Keys in final", "Sloane Stephens surges past Madison Keys to win US Open title", "Venus and Serena's worthy successors have arrived", "U.S. Open 2017 Women's Final Predictions: Sloane Stephens vs. Madison Keys", "Sloane Stephens wins US Open title after straight-sets victory over fellow American Madison Keys", "50 for 50: Sloane Stephens, 2017 women's singles champion", "Strycova caps year with win as Stephens retires in Zhuhai", "USA claims 2017 Fed Cup after Belarus battle", "United States Ends 17-Year Drought With Fed Cup Victory", "Comeback Player of the Year: Sloane Stephens", "Stephens asks reporters to relax after loss to Zhang", "Acapulco: Sloane Stephens snaps eight-match losing streak", "Miami Open: Sloane Stephens beats Jelena Ostapenko to win first title since US Open", "Sloane Stephens beats Jelena Ostapenko for Miami Open title", "Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens Send U.S Into Second Straight Fed Cup Final", "All-American French Open women's semifinal has South Florida ties", "Sloane Stephens Subtly Defused Madison Keys In French Open Semifinals", "Halep lifts first Grand Slam trophy at Roland Garros", "French Open 2018: Sloane Stephens' final collapse could be a turning point in her career for the better", "Vekic stuns Stephens in first-round Wimbledon upset", "Halep survives Stephens in grueling battle to win Montreal", "Sevastova stops Stephens title defense in US Open QF stunner", "Stephens slides past Pavlyuchenkova in Beijing epic", "Stephens storms past home hope Zheng in Beijing", "Steely Stephens steers past Osaka in Singapore showdown", "Stephens snaps Bertens streak, Red Group wide open in Singapore", "Stephens stops Kerber to complete Singapore semifinal lineup", "Stephens completes stunning Pliskova comeback, seals Singapore final spot", "Elina Svitolina Beats Sloane Stephens to Win the WTA Finals", "Sloane Stephens wins her first Australian Open match since 2014", "Pavlyuchenkova beats Stephens to set up quarter-final with unseeded American Collins", "Johanna Konta blitzes Sloane Stephens to reach French Open semi-finals", "Johanna Konta roars back to knock Sloane Stephens out of Wimbledon", "Sloane Stephens upset by Anna Kalinskaya in first round of US Open", "Bertens stumps Stephens to make second straight Madrid final", "Fourth time's a charm for Madison Keys, who overcomes Sloane Stephens", "Stephens out in first-round boilover, Keys rolls on", "Aussie Rodionova authors Stephens upset in Adelaide", "History repeats as Zhang stuns Stephens again at Australian Open", "SLOANE'S STRUGGLE IS REAL: NO. [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. [221] She was double bageled in her quarterfinal match by eventual champion Camila Giorgi. Tennis icon Bollettieri, coach for 10 No . [16] From then on, she split time living in both California and Florida. [71] Her best win at these two majors came in the first round of Wimbledon against world No. Darian has also represented Barbados at the Davis Cup and holds a record of 40-22 at the tournament. [251][252][253] She sometimes flattens out her shots, even on the run, and goes for stinging winners. [148] In her final match of the season, Stephens was able to win the first set against Elina Svitolina, but ultimately lost the match. Naomi Osaka rallies to beat Sloane Stephens in return to Indian Wells. Sloane Stephens has ended her coaching relationship with Paul Annacone after eight months, according to a release from the American's management company Wednesday. Seeded sixth, she won her seventh WTA singles title by beating Marie Bouzkov in the final. Seeded second, she lost in the first round to qualifier and eventual finalist, Rebeka Masarova. [192] In November, she played for the U.S. team at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. 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. [211], Stephens started her US Open series at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. She lost in the first round to Ajla Tomljanovi. The reception was held at the St. Regis in Bal Harbour, Fla., in Miami Beach. Sloane Stephens hired Kamau Murray, left, last fall to lift her career. 6 in the world, her best year-end ranking to date. [286], Stephens credits her mother for supporting her career as a tennis player since she was very young. Othmane Garma, right, and Coach Kamau Murray, have helped Sloane Stephens regain her form after a number of injuries. [271][272] She split with Murray in 2021 before the Miami Open and is working with ATP tennis player Darian King who is also her practice partner. Stephens had entered the month having never reached a semifinal at a high-level Premier tournament. [130][45], Stephens extended her losing streak to eight matches at the Australian Open. 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. 15, Venus Williams, in the first round of the French Open in their first ever meeting. Kamau Murray(born 1980) is an American tenniscoach. She defeated three top-ten players at the event, including No. Nonetheless, the United States won the tie 32 to secure a place in the 2014 World Group. While 19 years old, Stephens rose to prominence at the 2013 Australian Open with a semifinal run beating world No. [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. [121] She then won their next meeting in the semifinals of the 2018 French Open to reach her second Grand Slam singles final. [205] Seeded sixth at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, she was stunned in the first round by world No. 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. 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. Sloane Stephens has reunited with former coach Kamau Murray, with the pair to work together during the US Open. 45 while rising no higher than No. 270 ZARAZUA SHOCKS STEPHENS IN ACAPULCO", "Stephens survives Navarro charge in Monterrey", "WTA Tour: Fifth seed Sloane Stephens shocked by teenager sensation Leylah Fernandez in Monterrey", "WTA and ATP announce further suspension of tennis through June 7", "ATP AND WTA EXTEND TOUR SUSPENSIONS INTO JULY DUE TO CORONAVIRUS", "Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez upsets Sloane Stephens at Top Seed Open", "Western and Southern Open: Caroline Garcia beats Sloane Stephens, Vondrousova upset", "Serena Williams fights back, routs former champ Sloane Stephens", "Hibino handles Stephens in Strasbourg opener", "Badosa beats Stephens for Roland Garros breakthrough", "Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez beats Sloane Stephens at Grampians Trophy", "Barty whitewash, Putintseva comeback lead to Australian Open wins", "Doi, Gracheva kick off Phillip Island Trophy with Garcia, Stephens upsets", "Stephens slumps to 0-4 in 2021 after Monterrey Open exit", "Sloane Stephens Breaks 2021 Duck At Miami Open, Svetlana Kuznetsova Loses In First Round", "BIANCA ANDREESCU TRIUMPHS IN MIAMI, AMANDA ANISIMOVA AWAITS", "WTA Charleston: Sloane Stephens upsets Madison Keys", "Spain's Badosa ousts world No. She then backed up that win by beating 23rd seed Shahar Pe'er. Sloane took Franciscos advice at 11 and proceeded to Boca Raton to train. [88][93], Stephens and Halep have built a rivalry centered around their highest profile matches in 2018. She lost in the first round to 17th seed and world No. [67] She played in the Fed Cup playoff tie in April and lost her only match against Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson. In Murray's absence, Stephens had worked with Sven Groeneveld for three months. [153] Stephens ended her Grand Slam season with an opening-round loss at the US Open to qualifier Anna Kalinskaya. [24] These results brought her to a career-high junior ranking of No. The 29-year-old was born on the 20th of March, 1993, in Florida, United States (US), into a family with a strong athletics history. For Sloane Stephens, the beginning of a friendship", "Sloane Stephens Ready to Sparkle in 2013", "WIL 12 Serena Williams vs. Sloane Stephens Match Summary", "The Stars and Stripes in 2013: Sloane Stephens", "Serena, Venus lift USA past Sweden in Fed Cup", "Stephens' maturation continues as she exits French Open quietly", "Wimbledon: Sloane Stephens steals spotlight from Serena Williams again", "Maria Sharapova beaten by Sloane Stephens in second round of Cincinnati Masters", "USTA FL Friday Blog: Roddick Debut on FOX Sports 1; Tennis on TV", "Serena Williams defeats Sloane Stephens in fourth round of U.S. Open", "WTA Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens head to Istanbul as alternates", "Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens withdraw from Hobart International", "Australian Open 2014: Victoria Azarenka breezes past Sloane Stephens to dispel memories of controversial victory last year", "Sloane Stephens advances to Indian Wells quarterfinals in strong outing", "France stun USA to seal World Group place", "French Open 2014: Simona Halep beats Sloane Stephens in fourth round", "Sloane Stephens ousted in first round at Wimbledon by Maria Kirilenko", "Sloane Stephens falls in second round of U.S. Open", "What's Next for Sloane Stephens After Early 2015 Australian Open Exit? After Stephens's victory against her at the tournament, Serena commented, "I made you," in a tweet believed to be directed at Stephens and did not speak to her younger compatriot until at least May. [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. [238][239] Nonetheless, Stephens has said the two of them still had a good relationship. Sloane Stephens is a top-rated American female tennis player with a lot to offer and a potential successor to the retired Serena Williams. [213] At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she lost in the second round to world No. [40], In the middle of 2009, Stephens participated in World TeamTennis as a member of the New York Buzz. 306 and lucky loser, Nefisa Berberovi, in three sets. 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! Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Sloane Stephens is building her resume of accomplishments both on and off the court!. Francisco was an ex-Paraguay tennis player who retired in 1990 after claiming 10 Doubles and no Singles. 11 towards the end of 2013, she regressed and stayed outside the top 25 to the end of 2015. [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. [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 achieved a career-best ranking of world No. [46] She then made it through qualifying at the French Open to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut in singles. "Happy to have Francis Roig join my team as my new coach! They played for a third time in 2021 at the US Open and Sloane prevailed in a third set tiebreak. [279] She has appeared in television advertisements for Built with Chocolate Milk, a campaign to encourage chocolate milk as a recovery drink. She was eliminated in the first round by Madison Keys in three sets. She lost in the first round to Leylah Fernandez. This time, Williams avenged her Australian Open loss in straight sets and went on to win the tournament. Sloane Stephens is a long-time Rafa Nadal fan. 336. On our site youll find a variety of options to continue watching and talking about famous sportsmens,tennis tournaments and tennis gear. 3 in the world and reached the 2018 French Open finals while working with Murray. [16][295][296], In late 2017, Stephens graduated from Indiana University East with a bachelor's degree in communications studies. 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. Required fields are marked *. In thecharacteristically wide-open landscape of women's tennis, Stephens will be one of many potential contenders for this year's U.S. Open, which will announce its main draw Thursday and begin play Monday. [98] With Murray as her coach, Stephens established herself as one of the best players in women's tennis. 2, Simona Halep, at the Washington Open. She defeated Lucie Hradeck in her first career main-draw match before losing to the defending champion, 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva. New fiance Altidore, new coach Groeneveld for Sloane Stephens 2 seed in the WTT Playoffs. 21, Jessica Pegula.[202]. [121][122] She 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. In the first such match, the French Open final, Halep came from a set down to defeat Stephens for her first Grand Slam title. "[131] In the coming months, she would prove to be correct, first by snapping her losing streak at her next tournament in Acapulco. [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. [278], After her US Open victory, Stephens accrued several new sponsors, including Mercedes-Benz. [106] Her last tournament of the year was the 2016 Rio Olympics, which ended with a first round loss to Eugenie Bouchard. [161] She fell in the second round to Leylah Fernandez. [275], Her clothing sponsor from 2010 was Under Armour and in early 2018 she signed with Nike. The two Americans finished the round-robin in third place in their group, with only one rubber win against Spain. [162] After Monterrey, the WTA tour was suspended from the rest of March through July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[163][164]. With these results, Stephens climbed back into the top 100 of the WTA rankings. 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. 96, Johanna Larsson, while committing 63 unforced errors. With Colgate, Stephens is a part of their Bright Smiles, Bright Futures campaign that focuses on educating children about oral hygiene. 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. [266], Stephens briefly worked with Thomas Hgstedt in late 2014. [69] She then lost to world No. Stephens also earned acareer-high rank of No. [198], In February, Stephens competed at the Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara, Mexico. Stephens was born on March 20, 1993 in Plantation, Florida to Sybil Smith and John Stephens, both of whom were accomplished athletes. 21 Sam Stosur in the semifinals and won the final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while only dropping three games. [199] This was her first final and title since 2018. She lost in the third round to No. Congratulations to all of these ladies! 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. [45], She had foot surgery in January and could not walk again without a boot until the middle of April. [50], With an improved ranking, Stephens was able to play WTA Tour-level events the entire season. Hot Shots: Sloane Stephens' wedding; ATP Cup and WTA action begins in With Smith as her coach, she became a top-ranked junior with three Grand Slam tournament doubles titles and also cracked the top 100 of the WTA rankings. Having played there every year since 2008, she picked up her first two main draw wins at the tournament, including the second one over No. [212] This was her first loss to Tomljanovi, having led their Head to Head 6-0. Stephens has talked about her newly formed player-coach partnership with longtime friend Darian King this week. Chicago will return to World TeamTennis this summer, with 2017 U.S. Open women's champion Sloane Stephens leading the expansion Smash. [132] In March, Stephens returned to form and won the Miami Open, her first Premier Mandatory title. Now the Grand Slam champion is here to sh. Sloane Stephens, Jozy Altidore married on New Year's Day. Their relationship ended in 2012; David Nainkin. [32], Stephens played her first professional events on the ITF Women's Circuit in late 2007. 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. [297] She finished her degree while recovering from foot surgery earlier in the year. She is one of the few black Americans after the Williams sisters that have been ranked among the Worlds Top 10 female tennis players. [43][44] After starting the year ranked No. She won the tournament without dropping a set for her first career WTA title. She attended several WTA events in the United States including Indian Wells, the Miami, and Charleston, where she interviewed fellow tennis players and also provided analysis. 4, Maria Sakkari. A year after her breakthrough, she reached the fourth round and was again defeated by world No. She showed an improvement in form at the US Open. 17 after the tournament. Sloane Stephens started off the new year by starting a new chapter of her life, as she and American soccer star Jozy Altidore were wed on New Year's Day. After losing to an up-and-coming Caroline Garcia and picking up a win against Virginie Razzano, Stephens and her partner Madison Keys lost to the two of them in the final doubles match to relegate the United States into World Group II the following year.