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Sloane Stephens humorously expressed frustration over the fact that her ranking has not improved in the past year.
Stephens is currently in Florida competing at the 2024 Miami Open. She kicked off her singles campaign with a win over Angelique Kerber, winning 6-2, 6-3 in the first round to set up a second-round date with Sorana Cirstea.
The former World No. 3 is also competing in the doubles event. She has teamed up with compatriot Ashlyn Krueger and the pair secured a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 win against the formidable duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
Speaking on the Changeover podcast, Stephens expressed her desire to return to the top 20 in the singles rankings. She revealed that she had shared her frustration with her coaches, Omar El Kheshen and Kamau Murray, about her stagnant WTA Rankings over the past year.
Stephens, ranked 41st in the world, stated that she had hilariously questioned the methods other players were using to score points to climb up the rankings, as she was struggling to make progress despite her efforts on the court.
“Yes, I would love to be back in the top 20, and like I was telling my coach the other day, I was like, ‘You know my ranking hasn’t moved in like a year.’ I’m like, ‘Who are these people playing these matches, and where are they getting these points from?’ Like, what’s happening? ‘Am I not playing that much? Do I need to travel some more? Like, what do I need to do?’ I think that he was like, ‘Sh*t, I don’t know,'” Sloane Stephens said.
Stephens ended 2022 as the World No. 37 before falling 11 places by the end of 2023.
Sloane Stephens' best result in 2024 came at the Brisbane Internationals & ATX Open doubles events
Sloane Stephens' standout performances of the 2024 season came at the Brisbane Internationals and the ATX Open's doubles event.
In Brisbane, Stephens teamed up with fellow American Ashlyn Krueger. They began their campaign by securing a victory over another American duo of Sofia Kenin and Asia Muhammad in the opening round, with scores of 7-6(4), 6-2.
They continued their winning streak by defeating Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi 3-6, 6-4, 11-9, to move into the quarterfinals. There, they were defeated by Cristina Bucsa and Alexandra Panova.
At the 2024 ATX Open, Stephens partnered with Peyton Stearns for the doubles event. The American pair kicked off their campaign with a hard-fought victory over Samantha Murray Sharan and Jessika Ponchet, winning 2-6, 6-3, 10-5 to advance to the quarterfinals.
However, their run was again cut short in the quarterfinals, as they were defeated by Tereza Mihalikova and Yanina Wickmayer in three sets. On the singles front, Stephens has a rather underwhelming 8-7 win-loss record in 2024.
