Sloane Stephens set to miss French Open after falling to lowest in WTA rankings in eight years

America’s Sloane Stephens has now fallen to her lowest ranking in eight years after missing out on the Rouen Open this year. The 32-year-old lifted the title last year after beating Magda Linette in the final with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

This year, however, Stephens failed to show up to defend her crown as she is currently spending time on the sidelines to recover from a foot injury. That absence from the court, along with some poor results in the last few months, where she suffered nine consecutive first-round defeats in different competitions, meant that Stephens is now ranked outside the top 300 players.

That ranking will not be enough for her to cement a spot in the upcoming French Open qualifying round, meaning that there is a serious risk that she will not feature at all in the upcoming second Grand Slam of the year. That will be a big blow for a player who has an impressive record while playing at the Roland Garros, where she finished as the runner-up in 2018 after losing the final to the former world number one Simona Halep with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Stephens is a one-time Grand Slam winner as well. She lifted the US Open in 2017 after beating fellow American Madison Keys in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-0.

Last year, the Florida-born was asked about how long she would like to be playing, to which she responded by admitting that she will think about her future after the 2025 season. “Tennis has a lot of ups and downs so I think it’s about how you manage your year,” she said as quoted by The Tennis Gazette. “Obviously I realised I’m the oldest person here and very ancient, but I have enjoyed just travelling and being on tour and competing and I think that is the most important part for me. So to take that into 2025 will be important, I think for the longevity of my career, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to play so I’m just making sure I enjoy it and have a good time.”