"We've always had a strong player field" - Sloane Stephens on the state of men's and women's tennis in America

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens acknowledged that the 2022 season has been a strong one for US tennis.

Both Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff have broken into the top 10 of the ATP and WTA rankings for the first time, while players like Jessica Pegula, Tommy Paul, and Maxime Cressy have won titles this season.

During a press conference at the ongoing Guadalajara Open, Stephens spoke about the strength of tennis in America and said the competition within their ranks has made all the players better.

"Yeah, I think we've always had a strong player field for American tennis, men and women," Sloane Stephens said. "I think that obviously representing the U.S. has had its advantages because there are so many of us. I think it's only made us better, it's raised our level. It made everybody I grew up playing with, my age group, we're all still competitively playing. We're all pushing each other to do better. It's nice."

"I think obviously as a really strong country, we've always been strong. But to see us have win Billie Jean King Cup titles, have really strong teams like that, it's encouraging," she added.

Sloane Stephens defeats Caroline Garcia to move into Guadalajara Open QF

Sloane Stephens returns a shot to Belinda Bencic at the WTA Guadalajara Open 2022

Sloane Stephens got past the in-form French player Caroline Garcia in straight sets, 7-6(6), 7-5, to register her eighth consecutive win in Guadalajara (including the Abierto Zapopan, a WTA 250 event) and move into the last eight of the tournament.

But it was far from a straight forward match for the former US Open champion, as she had to fight back from a 5-0 deficit in the first-set tie-break.

Speaking later, Stephens said the match was tricky due to the altitude, and Garcia's serve and flat groundstrikes.

"It was a good match. Obviously we both played well, I thought. A tricky match obviously with the altitude. She plays flat, so it was difficult to get a handle on the ball. She served well. But, like I said, happy to be through. Happy to have won another match here in Guadalajara," she said.

Stephens also reflected on her memorable win at the Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara in February, her first title since 2018.

"Yeah, I love it here. Obviously great memories from February, winning my last title here. So, yeah, excited and happy to be back here. Happy to be playing good tennis. Happy to be finishing off the last tournament of the year on a good note," she added.