"Is this thing still on?" - Sloane Stephens jokes about Twitter shutting down following Elon Musk's takeover
American tennis star Sloane Stephens has joked about Twitter potentially shutting down.
According to widespread reports, the social media giant, which was recently taken over by Elon Musk, is on the verge of collapsing after a large portion of the staff did not sign up for Musk's Twitter 2.0 edition, which would require employees to work long hours and put an end to remote work, among other things.
In light of this, 2017 US Open champion Stephens took to Twitter to take a dig at Musk and the micro-blogging platform, writing:
"Is this thing still on?"
Is this thing still on? 😅
How Sloane Stephens fared this season
Sloane Stephens had a decent 2022 season, ending with 18 victories from 35 matches. She began the year with a bang, winning her first championship since 2018 by defeating Marie Bouzkova at the Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2. It was also her seventh WTA singles title.
She then fell early in back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula. Her clay-court season also didn't start well, as she was knocked out in the early rounds of the Charleston Open, Madrid Open, and Italian Open. The 29-year-old also struggled at the Bad Homburg Open, Citi Open, and Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
In terms of Grand Slam tournaments, Stephens struggled at the Australian Open, as she lost in the first round to 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu. She did, however, play some of her best tennis at the French Open, reaching the quarterfinals by defeating Jule Niemeier, Sorana Cirstea, Diane Parry and Jil Teichmann. Unfortunately, 18-year-old Coco Gauff cut her run short in the last eight.
Stephens fell in the first round of Wimbledon to Zheng Qinwen, and in the second round of the US Open against World No. 1 and eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
The World No. 37 competed in her final tournament of the season in Guadalajara, where she reached the quarterfinals. En route to the last eight, Stephens beat players such as Linda Fruhvirtova, Belinda Bencic, and Caroline Garcia. However, her fairytale run was cut short at the hands of compatriot and eventual winner Jessica Pegula, who beat her in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Despite not winning the tournament, her performance propelled her back into the top 40 of the WTA rankings, thus providing a decent finishing touch to her season.