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Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys faced off against each other in the Women's Tennis Classic exhibition match at the Dallas Open on Sunday. They kicked off the ATP 250 event, which will feature top talents including Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov.
The tournament was originally supposed to feature Venus Williams and Danielle Collins in the Women's Tennis Classic. However, Venus Williams was forced to pull out due to injury, the same injury that kept her out of the 2023 Australian Open. Danielle Collins also had to withdraw from the match on account of a scheduling conflict. Stephens and Keys, therefore, were announced as their replacements.
Stephens and Keys have faced each other seven times on the WTA Tour, with Stephens leading the head-to-head 5-2. They famously faced off against each other in the 2017 US Open final, with Stephens taking home the trophy 6-3, 6-0.
Sloane Stephens shared a glimpse of their incredible weekend in Dallas on social media. Her photos show how she and Keys were all smiles as they enjoyed meeting their fans in a more intimate setting. Sloane expressed what a great time she had participating in the tournament and thanked the Dallas Open for the experience.
Thank you for an amazing weekend! @dalopentennis," the American wrote on Instagram.
Madison Keys also shared photos of her time at the Dallas Open, commenting on how much fun she had, and thanked the tournament for inviting her to the event.
"Fun weekend in Dallas," Keys captioned her Instagram post with a heart emoji.
The Dallas Open thanked the two for their participation in the exhibition match, a close encounter which Keys won 7-6(2), 6-3.
Sloane Stephens meets Sloane Stephens at the Dallas Open
In a heartwarming event, Sloane Stephens met her namesake through the Buddy Up Tennis organization. The organization serves children with Down Syndrome and other special needs.
The Dallas Open arranged for the endearing meeting to take place, titling the meeting as "Big Sloane meets Little Sloane."
"Where tennis meets extreme cuteness," the Instragram handle captioned the post.
The World No. 39 thanked the organization and the Dallas Open for facilitating the meeting with the young fan and commented on how she had a wonderful time meeting her namesake.
"Had the best time meeting Sloane Stephens!" she wrote on Twitter.
Stephens will next feature in the 2023 Merida Open in Mexico, a WTA 250 event to be held from February 20-26.
