Sloane Stephens on her role in the WTA Players' Council: "This is like the full time job I do for free"
Sloane Stephens, who is currently competing at the WTA1000 event in Cincinnati, spoke about her responsibilities as one of the leading members of the WTA Players' Council following her victory over Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto in her opener.
The former US Open champion has been a part of the WTA Players' Council since 2019. Asked whether younger players approach her regularly, the American replied in the affirmative before insisting that providing solutions to their issues is her secondary profession at this point.
She also admitted that she has been thriving in her role while inferring that the WTA tour has come a long way in perfecting its structure.
"Yeah, all the time. This is, like, the full-time job that I do for free (smiling)," Sloane 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."
Sloane Stephens added that although working in the capacity of a council member can be challenging, she always has her peers' best interests at heart.
"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," she remarked.
"Just trying to manage that and, yeah, everyone, of course, if they have a complaint, they are coming to the person they think can change it, which I have no control," she added.
She further conceded that inspiring up-and-coming teenagers towards positive change is one of the driving factors behind her stint in the WTA 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."
"I think next year will be an interesting year for everyone" - Sloane Stephens on the revised Hologic WTA tour calendar
Sloane Stephens also weighed in on the potential change to the Hologic WTA tour calendar next year. In June, the WTA announced that they intend to "strengthen the top-tier WTA events" by adding two more WTA 1000 events in China.
The women's tennis governing body also plans to increase the number of 500-level events to ensure more lucrative rewards for players over the entire season.
"So it's where we are now obviously on the way to equal prize money, the tournament is getting longer, I think it will be a new dynamic for everyone. Obviously, when I came on the tour, it was very different," she said.
Sloane Stephens also recognized the improvements made by the organization, as she reminisced about the time when she was first starting out on the tour.
"The tournament schedule was very different to what it is now. I think next year will be an interesting year for everyone, because it will just be a new dynamic, and be very different," she said. "We kind of take it in stride, and I will say that I'm optimistic for a good schedule and outcome and players will be happy next year."
Stephens will square off against Caroline Garcia in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.