Sloane Stephens arrives in South Africa with husband Jozy Altidore for Africa Cares Women’s Tennis Challenge
After ending her season at the Guadalajara Open, Sloane Stephens and her husband, Jozy Altidore, visited Iceland for a vacation before traveling to South Africa. She recently posted a video on social media, which shows the couple, who got married at the beginning of the year, having arrived in the African country.
The 2017 US Open winner is excited to participate in the Africa Cares Tennis Challenge, an event that will be held at the DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on December 3rd and 4th.
"South Africa, we made it! I can’t wait to spend the next couple of days exploring, learning and, of course, playing a little bit of tennis here," Stephens wrote.
The annual two-day exhibition tournament aims to raise awareness against gender-based violence and will feature quite a few top players this year like Ons Jabeur, Martina Hingis, Dustin Brown, Khololwam Montsi, and Stephens.
Simona Halep was also set to be part of the event before she was banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which stated that the provisionally suspended player will not be able to compete or attend any sanctioned tennis events organized by the governing bodies of the sport. Halep's drug test revealed the presence of a banned substance in her body in October.
Sloane Stephens' 2022 season
Although Sloane Stephens hasn't had the best results this season, she is proud and satisfied to be heading in the right direction. The 29-year-old, who started the season as World No. 65, has moved up to 37th place in the WTA rankings as the year ends.
The American star managed to win just one singles title in 2022 — the WTA 250 Abierto Zapopan title in Guadalajara in February. She also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to compatriot Coco Gauff. While the 2017 US Open champion faced first-round exits at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, she was knocked out of the US Open by eventual winner Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Stephens played her last tournament at the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open in October, where she produced high-level tennis to upset Belinda Bencic and Caroline Garcia. The American player lost to eventual champion Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.
She took to social media to sum up her season, saying that she was grateful for being able to do what she loved.
"Beyond grateful for another year of doing what I love. Through the highs and lows, I appreciate all of the love and support that comes my way. So much to be proud of in such an insane year and so much to look forward to," Sloane Stephens wrote.