US Open 2017: Sloane Stephens is quietly making a comeback

Sloane Stephens has been quietly mounting a comeback as she rises back up the WTA rankings. Can she make noise at the 2017 US Open?

Few players have faced more unfair or stereotypical expectations than Sloane Stephens. Tennis fans quickly compared Stephens to the Williams Sisters, if only because of the color of her skin and the power of her ground strokes.

After struggling to live up to the hype—due in large part to injuries—Stephens is beginning to make her own name with the spotlight off of her.

Stephens became a borderline household name by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2013. She made the fourth round at six consecutive Grand Slam events between 2013 and 2014—and she did so at 19, 20, and 21 years of age.

She struggled throughout most of the next two seasons, however, and suffered a stress fracture in her right foot in August of 2016.

Stephens ultimately missed the US Open in 2016, and both the Australian Open and French Open in 2017. She struggled in her comeback at Wimbledon, but those who wrote her off after that loss were acting prematurely.

Since her first-round exits at Wimbledon and the Citi Open, Stephens has looked every bit as impressive as she did in 2013 and 2014.

Stephens has climbed back from being ranked No. 957 in the world to No. 84 in less than two months. She overcame her first-round exits at Wimbledon and Washington. D.C. by making deep runs at back-to-back Power 5 events.

In turn, Stephens has quietly come back from the depths of despair to reenter the ranks of the relevant, and potentially salvage a once promising career.

At the 2017 Rogers Cup, Stephens made her presence known with a resilient 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-4 win over Yulia Putintesva in the Round of 64. Most viewed it as a nice moment for Stephens—her first win since her return—but it was more of a stepping stone.

Stephens would prove as much by securing a rather surprising 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-2 victory over Petra Kvitova, who’s ranked No. 13 in the world.

A round later, Stephens proved that the win wasn’t a fluke by dominating former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber: 6-2, 6-2. She then defeated Lucie Safarova 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 before ultimately falling to Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

With that run, Stephens firmly reestablished herself as a threat to any and every player she encounters on the WTA Tour.

The feel-good run in Canada was followed by yet another sensational showing in Cincinnati. Competing at the Western & Southern Open, Stephens started things off with another win over Safarova: 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

She then defeated Kvitova once again, this time 6-2, 6-3, and outlasted Ekaterina Makarova by a count of 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Stephens would go on to defeat Julia Goerges by 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), thus reaching her second consecutive semifinal at a Premier 5 event. It was a shining example of the remarkable talent that made Stephens such a compelling young player before her injury.

Having taken the time to rest, heal, and study the game from afar, Stephens has come back as an even more resilient player than before.

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At the 2017 US Open, Sloane Stephens will have a chance to reintroduce herself to the ranks of the future elite.