Sloane Stephens predicts the next two American players to breakthrough in tennis

Sloane Stephens predicted her next two American players to break through during an interactive session with her fans.

The 29-year-old recently spent her off-season in South Africa, sightseeing with her husband Jozy Altidore. She was scheduled to play at the Africa Cares Women's Tennis Challenge in Johannesburg earlier this month but the event got postponed.

After returning home, Stephens had a Q&A session with her fans on social media, where she answered a host of questions. When one fan asked her about Alycia Parks winning back-to-back titles, Stephens called Parks "the bomb" and said that she predicted Katie Volynets and her as the next two Americans to break through.

"She's the bomb. I told you guys a few weeks ago that Alycia Parks and Katie Volynets were my next two Americans to break through. It's happening right before our eyes," Stephens said.

Sloane Stephens predicted Alycia Parks and Katie Volynets as the next two Americans to breakthrough

Alycia Parks shared her compatriot's answer on her Instagram story with her caption reading:

"You said it."

Alycia Parks on Sloane Stephens predicting her and Katie Volynets as the next two Americans to break through.

Alycia Parks has been in pretty good form lately, winning back-to-back WTA 125 titles in Andorra and Angers. The 21-year-old previously reached the quarterfinals of the AGEL Open in Ostrava, a WTA 500 event, beating Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari in the process. The latter was the first top 10 player she beat in her career.

Parks' performances saw her break into the Top 100 of the WTA rankings and she is currently ranked 75th in the world, one place above the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. She recently triumphed over Anna-Lena Friedsam in the Open P2i Angers Arena Loire final to round off her 2022 season with a bang.

Katie Volynets has been a regular on the ITF circuit and reached the quarterfinals and semifinals of a few events, especially in doubles. She is currently ranked 113th in the world.

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Sloane Stephens confirms ASB Classic participation

Sloane Stephens in action at the Guadalajara Open

During the same interaction with her fans, Sloane Stephens confirmed that the ASB Classic in Auckland would be her first event of the 2023 season.

The American will look to begin the new year with a bang as she did not have the best of seasons in 2022, winning 18 out of 35 matches. She managed to finish her campaign with a bang by reaching the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open, where she lost to eventual champion Jessica Pegula. The 29-year-old is currently ranked No. 37 in the WTA rankings