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Why Sloane Stephens Isn’t Ready for Prime Time on or off the Court
Published: August 2, 2013
She's talented, she's beautiful, she's young and she seems to shine on the biggest stages of the sport.
But dig a little bit deeper, and it's clear the American has a long way to go.
Stephens has had a breakthrough year in 2013 at the Grand Slams, making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and climbing into the Top 20. But she has been unable to get any momentum going at the smaller events.
Stephens has never made it to the final of any event on the WTA tour, let alone a Grand Slam tournament. Her only career win over a Top-10 player was against a hobbled Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals earlier this year.
And as her 2-5 record (one of the wins being a walkover win over Venus Williams) in the United States this year proves, she has an even bigger issue playing well at home under the scrutiny of the American media.
Most players work their whole lives dreaming of being in her position, of having the press pay attention to their matches and big expectations on their shoulders. As Billie Jean King famously said, "Pressure is a privilege."
But Stephens doesn't seem to feel that way.
She made that clear in her press conference at the Citi Open on Monday after losing in straight sets to Olga Puchkova in the first round.
When asked about the pressure on her coming into the U.S. Open in a few weeks—she is the No. 15-ranked player in the world and the No. 2 American behind Serena Williams—Stephens rolled her eyes and gave a big sigh.
"I don't care anymore," she said flippantly. "I'm like, 'Whatever.'"
But the more she talked, the clearer it was she did care. In fact, the expectations bother her immensely.
"I mean, it's a lot of pressure," she conti...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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