Sloane Stephens
Updated: Wikipedia source
Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She has achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 by the WTA. Stephens has won eight WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the 2017 US Open. She also has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 63 and has won one WTA title. Born to athletic parents, Stephens was introduced to tennis in Fresno, California. She moved to Florida to train at a tennis academy, ultimately working with Nick Saviano. Stephens became a promising junior player, reaching a junior ranking of world No. 5 and winning three out of four major girls' doubles titles in 2010 with her partner Tímea Babos. While 19 years old, Stephens rose to prominence at the 2013 Australian Open with a semifinal run beating world No. 3, Serena Williams. Although she reached No. 11 towards the end of 2013, she regressed and fell outside the top 25 at the end of 2015. Stephens switched to a new coach, Kamau Murray, under whom she returned to elite level and won three WTA titles in the first half of 2016. Her successful year was cut short by a foot injury that kept her out for months. Stephens returned from injury in the middle of 2017 and won the US Open in her fifth tournament back. She was also awarded WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her successful season. In 2018, she continued her success by winning her first Premier Mandatory title at the Miami Open, reaching a second major final at the French Open, entering the top 10 for the first time, and finishing runner-up at the WTA Finals.