Sloane Stephens: "I don't know how much longer I'm gonna play"
Sloane Stephens hinted at retirement while reflecting on her 2024 season in an interview. She recently competed against Madison Keys in the exhibition match. Her 2024 season did not pan out as expected, as she faced several early exits from tournaments, including the US Open.
In the US Open, Stephens fell short of advancing further after the first round, being bested by Clara Burel on August 27, 2024, with a score of 0-6, 7-5, 7-5. She faced the same fate in the Canadian Open, where she was defeated by Greet Minnen in the very first round with a score of 6-2, 6-2.
Not just these two, Stephens also faced an early exit in the Korean Open, which is one of the most recent matches played before the exhibition match at the Charlotte Invitational against Keys. Amidst this, she recently sat in a press conference alongside Keys, Carlos Alcaraz, and Frances Tiafoe, where she reflected on her 2024 season and hinted at retirement by saying that she doesn't know how much longer she is going to play.
"The year was fun. I had there was a lot going on. Obviously life is life, but I think that obviously in tennis there's a lot of ups and downs. So I think it's just kind of how you manage your year. And obviously for me, I realized that I'm like the oldest person here and very ancient, but I have enjoyed just traveling and being on tour and competing, and I think that's the most important part for me. So obviously, to take that into 2025 will be important for just the longevity of my career. I don't know how much longer I'm going to play, so just making sure that I enjoy it and having a good time," said Stephens.
Sloane Stephens opened up about "feeling lost" after US Open win
Sloane Stephens appeared on the Tennis Insider Club podcast in October 2024 and recalled her experience after the US Open 2017's win. She revealed that she felt lost after her win, as her tournaments after her victory at the US Open did not pan out as expected. She said that she kept on playing even though she had injuries then.
"I think I was a little bit lost (after the 2017 US Open title) because I was like, 'what am I going to do now?' and I was like, 'I don't know what there is to do', but obviously, after the US Open, I was injured, but I kept playing. I just was like playing, playing, playing."
Stephens added:
"Obviously, I had won (the US Open) from no ranking to inside the top 15, and then, not to offend them 1000s, the mandatories, which I had entered on my protected (ranking), I couldn't pull out of. So I'm going to have a go because otherwise I'll get fined and all of these things. It was an up and down journey. Like, I definitely would have stopped playing after the US Open."
Sloane Stephens has won a total of seven WTA Tour singles titles in her career.