Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in total. She also owns one doubles title on the WTA Tour.

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. Her stepfather was a competitive recreational tennis player and was her primary inspiration for beginning to play the sport. Stephens moved to Florida to train at a tennis academy, ultimately working with Nick Saviano. She 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 Tímea Babos.

While 19 years old, Stephens rose to prominence at the 2013 Australian Open with a semifinal run beating world No. 3, Serena Williams. Although she reached No. 11 towards the end of 2013, she regressed and stayed outside the top 25 to the end of 2015. She 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. Her successful year was cut short by a foot injury that kept her out for months.

She returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open singles title in her fifth tournament back. She was also awarded WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her successful season. In 2018, she continued her success by winning her first Premier Mandatory title at the Miami Open, reaching a second Grand Slam singles final at the French Open, entering the top 10 for the first time, and finishing runner-up at the WTA Finals.