Sloane Stephens shares her favourite memory from childhood, reveals details about her next tournament and more
In a recent interactive session with her fans, Sloane Stephens spoke about her favorite childhood memory, details about her next tournament, and other things.
The American just got back from a trip to Africa, where she was scheduled to participate in the Africa Cares Women's Tennis Challenge starting on December 3, but the tournament was postponed. However, Stephens had plenty of fun while she was there and kept her followers up to date on her whereabouts.
Stephens had a Q&A session via her Instagram stories after she got back from the trip, during which one of the users asked her about her favorite childhood memory. She responded that it was spending time with her grandparents, attaching a childhood photo of herself frosting a cake with them.
"Spending time with my grandparents! They were my best friends. I miss them so much," Stephens wrote.
Another user inquired about her first tournament of 2023, and the 29-year-old responded that it will be the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Meanwhile, another user asked how she plans to wear her hair in Australia, and the 2017 US Open champion responded by posting a photo of herself with long braids and wrote:
"Going to give this a go. I love this color and this style has been so convenient."
How did Sloane Stephens perform 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. This was also her seventh WTA singles title.
She was then eliminated early in back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula. Her clay-court season didn't start well either, as she was knocked out in the first 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. However, she played 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 put an end to her impressive run in the last eight.
Sloane 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 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.