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Jennifer Brady has sympathized with Peyton Stearns after the NCAA champion spoke about her "unsponsored" life.
Stearns has had an impressive run at the 2023 US Open, where she defeated the likes of Viktoriya Tomova, Clara Tauson, and Katie Boulter to reach the fourth round without dropping a set.
The 21-year-old's campaign at the New York Major came to an end on Monday after Marketa Vondrousova came from behind to win 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2. While Stearns has signed up with Wilson as her racket sponsor, she has yet to get signed by apparel or shoe brands.
Her lack of proper apparel and shoe sponsors was evident in her mid-match outfit change during her defeat to Vondrousova. Stearns sported a navy blue Lululemon outfit in the first two sets before changing into a cherry-colored Nike kit during the bathroom break for the final set.
A fan spotted the unusual outfit change and joked about Nike during the break.
"Did Nike sign Peyton Stearns in the toilet break, istg she was wearing Lululemon in the first two sets. That ain't just a different coloured dress it's a whole new brand!" the fan said.
This caught the attention of Stearns, who exclaimed that the reason behind her peculiar mid-match apparel change was due to a lack of sponsors.
"Unsponsored life," she replied.
Stearns' words resonated with Jennifer Brady, who herself is without apparel and shoe sponsors after spending nearly two years on the sidelines due to injury.
The Pennsylvania native responded:
"Feel this"
"Now I have to make a new goal" - Peyton Stearns looking to build on US Open 2023 campaign
After clinching the 2022 NCAA women's team and singles championship titles, Peyton Stearns wanted to test herself on the pro circuit. She made her tour debut at the WTA 250 Dow Tennis Classic at the end of last year, where she made a semifinal exit following defeat to Caty McNally.
Stearns continued competing on the ITF circuits this season before taking part in the WTA 250 ATX Open in Texas, where she made the quarterfinals. She then made her WTA 1000 debut in Indian Wells, defeating Rebeka Masarova in the opening round before losing to Bianca Andreescu.
After finishing as the runner-up at the Copa Colsanitas in Colombia, she made a Round of 32 exit at the French Open following defeat to Daria Kasatkina. Stearns competed in various tournaments in the North American hardcourt swing (Citi Open, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open, and Tennis in the Land) before getting to New York for the season's final Grand Slam.
By reaching the Round of 16 at Flushing Meadows, Stearns is projected to reach a career-high World No. 44 next week. Having set herself a personal goal of breaking into the top-50, the 21-year-old is now happy to set a new goal and build on her recent exploits.
"At the start of this year I told myself by the end of the year I wanted to be in the Top 100. That happened I think in March or April, so it happened pretty quickly. Then I told myself I wanted to be Top 75, and that happened pretty quickly," she said.
"Once I cracked that, I told myself I wanted to be top 50. Now I have to make a new goal," Stearns added.
