"Sloane Stephens is an actual embarrassment" - Fans in shock as American loses to player ranked outside Top 300, continues 12-match losing streak

Sloane Stephens' recent loss at the WTA 125 tournament, Abierto Tampico, left fans in shock as the American extended her losing streak to 12. Stephens was in contention with Indian player Sahaja Yamalapalli but lost to the latter in straight sets.

Sloane Stephens was a promising junior player, earning a world ranking of No. 3 and claiming three major doubles titles. She went on to win the US Open in 2017 and continued competing on the tour, but couldn’t replicate her Grand Slam success in the following years. In 2024, the 32-year-old won the WTA 250 Open de Rouen title, trouncing Magda Linette in the finals.

However, since then, Stephens has been losing in the opening rounds of all the tournaments she has participated in, while also dealing with a foot injury that sidelined her for seven months this year.

Recently, she continued her 12-match losing streak after losing in the first round of the Aiberto Tampico, a WTA 125 tournament. Her loss left fans shocked as she lost to a player ranked outside 300.

One X fan wondered how Sloane Stephens won the US Open title, calling her an 'embarrassment'.

"Sloane stephens is an actual embarrassment. How did this women win the US"

Another fan chimed in and opined that her game is no longer enjoyable to watch.

"Sloane Stephens is still playing, low key. Not sure why at this point. Not having much fun. (Opponent ranked No. 347)."

Another X user jokingly suggested that Stephens should never retire, as it would mean an infinite money glitch.

"I hope Sloane Stephens never retires. Infinite money glitch."

Another user found it funny that the 32-year-old lost to an Indian player.

"Sloane Stephens lost to some Indian girl? Lmfao WTF"

Sloane Stephens once revealed that she faced identity crisis after winning the Grand Slam title

Stephens at the CultureCon 2025 - Source: Getty

Sloane Stephens had a career breakthrough in 2017, winning her maiden major title. The following season also saw her rack up titles but later, injury struggles pushed her out of the WTA rankings. In the Breaking Barriers show, the Grand Slam champion revealed that she faced identity crisis after her ultimate goal of winning a major title was achieved.

"My goal was to win a Slam. This is the only thing to do and when it happened I was like, what happens after this and I had a complete identity crisis," she said.

Stephens started commentating for the Tennis Channel and was associated with the TNT Sports at the 2025 French Open.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder