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Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens tied the knot with American footballer Jozy Altidore on New Year's Day. The two were married at the St. Regis resort in Bal Harbour, Miami.
Stephens and Altidore have known each other since childhood while growing up in Florida. They started dating in 2015 and four years later, the Toronto FC striker proposed.
In an interview with Vogue, Altidore spoke about how he surprised Stephens and "popped the question" at an art gallery.
“We went to church in L.A. and then I made up an excuse telling Sloane that I wanted to check out a painting at an art gallery that I saw on Instagram and was thinking of buying,” Altidore remembers.
“When we got to the gallery, it was filled with her family and friends and instead of paintings, the gallery was decorated with massive canvases of photos from our relationship and all the people who have played a role in Sloane’s life up to this point. It was really cool that all the people in the photos were surrounding us when I popped the question.”
Stephens said she enjoyed the "symbolism" of getting married on New Year's Day, since it represents "a new beginning."
“I really liked the symbolism of starting a new year completely fresh with a new beginning—plus I fly to Australia to start my season soon so this is what needed to happen!”
Altidore added that the date is "easy to remember," and that January is "the best time of year" in Florida.
“The date will make our anniversary easy to remember," said Altidore. "Since we both grew up in South Florida, Miami was the perfect place to bring our families together, and January is the best time of year to be there.”
Sloane Stephens to start 2022 at the Australian Open
Once ranked third in the world, Sloane Stephens' performances have dipped over the past three years. However, the 28-year-old produced a string of good results in 2021 that included beating Karolina Pliskova at the French Open and Petra Kvitova in the first round at Wimbledon.
Although Stephens' ranking slipped to 64th by the end of the year, she will be eager to make an impact in 2022. The former US Open champion is on the official entry list for the Australian Open and that is probably where she will begin 2022.
The American exited in the first round of the Asia-Pacific Slam in the last two years, so she will be hoping for a better showing in 2022.
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