"This is like the full time job I do for free": Sloane Stephens delves into WTA Players' Council role, believes improvement is needed

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens recently opened up about her responsibilities as one of the leading members of the WTA Players' Council.

Stephens defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto in her opening round match at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, and later spoke about her role on the WTA Players' Council, which she joined in 2019.

"This is, like, the full-time job that I do for free (smiling)" Stephens said. "I'm on player council, so I won't dig too deep into it. I won't put salt in the wound. But it has been better, and I think we need to do better for our players.

"It's definitely tough, but I think we all have the same sentiment when it comes to figuring out what works best for the players. Everyone's going through it just at different times with different situations and different scheduling and rain and whatever it is."

Furthermore, the former World No.3 admitted that being able to inspire younger players played a huge role in her deciding to join the Players' Council.

"I think, yeah, we are a bunch of suckers because we keep coming back," the American said with a smile. "It's for the greater good, it's for the tour, it's for the girls, so the girls that are 15, 16 years old now who aspire to be professional tennis players, like, they have a good place to play and have a good job. Yeah, you know, it's a lot, but at the end of the day it will be worth it."