"You are essentially the captain and CEO of your own team": Stephens on what no-one can prepare professional tennis players for
WTA
Prior to the 2023 US Open, former champion Sloane Stephens spoke to Teen Vogue about several topics, including preparation for the big event.
Stephens lifted the title at Flushing Meadows in 2017, and has reached as high as World No.3 on the WTA rankings. The 30-year gave some insight into how she prepares for the last Grand Slam of the year.
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Having a full schedule aids in getting more matches under her belt
"I’ve played a tournament every week since the end of July!" said Stephens. "DC, Montreal, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and I just arrived in NY today! It feels great to be out there competing and getting some solid matches under my belt to prepare for the US Open."
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Furthermore, the Florida native opened up about life on the WTA tour, and gave advice to aspiring tennis players.
"Even though tennis is an individual sport, you also are essentially the captain and CEO of your own little team, which when you’re just starting out can feel like so much, especially when you’re still figuring out who you are as a young person and learning to navigate life as a professional athlete," she added. "It’s really important to surround yourself with people you trust and who you know have your back and are all aligned on your goals."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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