Sloane Stephens breaks title drought on red clay with historic win in Rouen

America’s tennis star Sloane Stephens achieved a milestone as she won the WTA 250 Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole. The competition was organised in the French city of Rouen where in the final on Sunday, the 31-year-old defeated Magda Linette with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

That victory was a special as it was Stephens first time since 2022 and her first title on the red clay court. In the final on Sunday, the winner won 62 percent points on her first serve which was considerably higher than her opponent who managed to win just 48 percent points on her first serve. The turning point of the match was Stephens ability to convert the break points as she ended up breaking the opponent six times in the match. In comparison, Linette ended up winning just three break points on the day.

The most impressive aspect of Stephens win was the fact that she ended up losing just two sets in the whole tournament. Before the final, the only set she lost was in the round of 32 in the match against Peyton Stearns where she won the fixture with a score of 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Other than that, the current world number 39 won in straight sets against Karolina Pliskova, China’s Yue Yuan and France’s Caroline Garcia.