14 TIMESeptember 3–10, 2018
Every highlight, however, seems to be
accompanied by a baling lame-out. After
winning the Open, Stephens lost eight straight
matches. She was eliminated in the irst rounds
of the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Three
days after her clinic in Washington, she lost to an
unseeded player at the Citi Open in D.C.
Inconsistency has dogged Stephens throughout
her career, and it casts a long shadow over her
title defense in Flushing Meadows. Who will take
the court in Queens? The future of American
tennis, with electrifying speed and a smile made
for Madison Avenue? Or the enigmatic should-be
superstar who’s prone to unforced errors? “It’s not
going to be easy,” says Stephens, discussing her
state of mind before the Open. “But at the end of
the day, it’s all an experience, right?”STEPHENS ANNOUNCED HER ARRIVAL in 2013,
when, at 19, she upset Serena Williams in the
Australian Open quarterinals. She lost in the
semis, but no matter: many tennis fans were
instantly drawn to her potential and charisma. Her
mother Sybil Smith is a school psychologist and
the irst black woman to be named a irst-team
All-American collegiate swimmer; her father John
Stephens was a former NFL running back who
died in an auto accident in 2009. Smith split with
Stephens when their daughter was 18 months old.
In 1994, John Stephens pleaded guilty to rape, and
was facing a separate sexual-assault charge at the
time of his death. Stephens reconnected with her
father a few years before his death and didn’t learn
about the assault cases until after. She chooses to
remember the man she got to know. “I wish he
could come to a tournament and see my play now,”
says Stephens. “I know he’s there. He’s watching.”
The high expectations following her upset
of Williams weighed on Stephens. “I felt really
disappointed when I wasn’t delivering, and that
kind of brought me down more than it would have
normally,” she says. Among tennis cognoscenti,
she developed a reputation for indiference. “All
you can hope at this point is that Sloane Stephens
has a hard time sleeping tonight,” the broadcaster
Mary Carillo said during Stephens’ 6-1, 6-0 loss
to Caroline Wozniacki at the 2014 Sony Open in
Miami. After managing to win four tour events
in 2015 and ’16, Stephens withdrew from the ’
U.S. Open because of a foot injury.
Surgery and recovery kept her of the tour
for 11 months. Stephens didn’t fare well in her
return, at Wimbledon, but impressed at the
tune-up tournaments before the Open. Soon, she
was enjoying the perks of being a Grand Slam
champion: an appearance onJimmy Kimmel
Live!, pictures with Magic Johnson, lucrative
endorsement deals with Nike, Mercedes-Benz,YOUTH TENNIS CLINICS, LIKE THE ONE REIGNING
U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens is holding
for some two dozen children in Washington, D.C.,
on this stiling summer afternoon, tend to be
lighthearted afairs known in the trade as a hit and
giggle. Pro player lobs a few shots to the kiddies,
waves to the cameras, signs some autographs.
Sponsor gets exposure, star gives back, kids pick
up some tips—everyone goes home happy.
Stephens, however, doesn’t like such “foo-foo”—
her words—afairs. “Hustle!” she yells at a group
of 11-year-olds not moving fast enough for her
liking. “Come on, pay attention!” she barks when
eyes wander. “Hey, hey, hey,” Stephens says when
some kids balk at her command to run sprints on
the indoor courts. “You guys are going to have an
attitude when you didn’t inish what you started?”
During a break, one girl walked to the sideline.
“They said she was going to be nicer,” she griped to
her mother.
A few hours later, Stephens is sitting sideways
on a hotel lobby couch and laughs when I relay the
young girl’s words. “I want to see you hit, I want to
see your strokes, I want to see you run,” Stephens,
25, says of her tough-love approach. “If I’m going to
spend an hour-and-a-half of my time, we’re going to
get sh-t done.”
Lately, no other American woman not named
Williams has gotten more done on the tennis court
than Stephens. Last September in New York, she
became the irst American player—male or female—
besides the Williams sisters to win a major tourna-
ment singles title in 14 years. That she did it after
missing nearly a year because of injury and about
one month removed from being ranked 957th was
particularly striking, as was her reaction. “Oh my
God,” Stephens was caught mouthing on TV before
receiving the $3.7 million winner’s check. When
asked then if her irst Grand Slam title made her
want more, Stephens spared all cliché: “Of course,
girl. Did you see that check that lady handed me?”
The title raised hopes that Stephens could be
the heir to the Williams’ mantle, and she has since
given more reason to believe it. In March she won
the Miami Open, a top tournament one notch
below the four majors, and she reached the inal of
the French Open in June. She’ll start the U.S. Open
on Aug. 27 as the third-ranked player in the world.
U.S. Open champion
Sloane Stephensis set
to defend her title in New
York—and defy her critics
By Sean Gregory
STEPHENS
QUICK
FACTSUpset city
With her
victory at the
U.S. Open in
New York last
year, Stephens
became just
the second
unseeded
woman to win
the title since- Kim
Clijsters, the
2009 winner,
is the other.
Buzzing
After winning
the Open,
Stephens
says she had
1,600 text
messages.School
sweethearts
Stephens
irst met her
boyfriend,
Toronto FC
and U.S.
national
soccer team
player Jozy
Altidore, when
she was in
ifth grade.TheBrief TIME with ...