WTA Tour: Recapping the Summer of Sloane Stephens

The summer of 2017 should forever be remembered as the Summer of Sloane Stephens. The alliteration is fitting based on what she achieved.

Prior to the summer of 2017, Sloane Stephens was often viewed as a disappointment by tennis fans. She received immeasurable hype as the future of the American tennis scene in 2013, when she broke out with stellar showings at all four of the Grand Slam events.

Unfortunately, a combination of injuries and inconsistency plagued Stephens to the point of her drifting into relative obscurity.

After missing nearly a year with a foot injury, however, Stephens has experienced an almost unprecedented rise up the WTA rankings. Perhaps most importantly, she’s made the long-awaited leap into the ranks of the elite.

If Stephens can build upon her success during the summer of 2017, then that leap will turn into a permanent residence in that elusive tier.

Stephens was slotted at No. 957 on the WTA rankings that were released on July 31. She stunned her critics shortly thereafter by producing strong showings at each of the Premier 5 events that were held in the weeks leading up to the 2017 US Open.

The Summer of Sloane Stephens all began with a 6-7, 6-0, 6-4 comeback victory over Yulia Putintseva in the Round of 64 at the Rogers Cup.

Following that impressive come-from-behind victory, Stephens shocked Petra Kvitova with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 upset. It was her biggest win since she returned to the tour, which temporarily instilled faith in those who believed she could still realize her potential.

Stephens justified the hype by upsetting Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the Round of 16, and defeating Lucie Safarova in the quarterfinals.

After dropping a semifinal match to Caroline Wozniacki, many believed her run was over. Instead, Stephens headed to the Western & Southern Open, where she defeated Safarova in a second consecutive encounter, this time 6-4, 7-6 in the Round of 64.

Once again, she followed a surprising Round of 64 victory by defeating Kvitova in the Round of 32, this time in a far more convincing manner: 6-2, 6-3.

With a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ekaterina Makarova, Stephens set herself up for a second consecutive quarterfinals appearance in a Premier 5 event. She was brilliant against Julia Goerges, securing a 6-1, 7-6 win to reach the semifinals at a second consecutive event.

Stephens was defeated in convincing fashion by then world No. 2 Simona Halep in the semifinals, but that was only the beginning of her brilliant summer.

Stephens began the US Open by defeating 2015 finalist Roberta Vinci 7-5, 6-1. It was a nice moment, but the general expectation was that her sensational summer would come to an end against Dominika Cibulkova in the Round of 64.

Instead, Stephens defeated Cibulkova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3—an impressive victory over a player who was ranked in the Top 10 in the world at the time of the match.

Stephens went on to defeat Ashleigh Barty 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 32, and secured another win over Goerges in the Round of 16. Now making her first quarterfinals appearance at a Grand Slam event since 2013, the pressure was mounting.

Stephens managed to survive the pressure and fight back late to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over Anastasija Sevastova in the quarterfinals.

Now playing in her third consecutive semifinal at a prestigious event—this time a Grand Slam—Stephens’ comeback had taken its form. A loss to Venus Williams would have been forgivable, especially after she found herself within two points of losing.

Instead, Stephens fought back for a 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 victory over Williams in a match that featured an instant classic of a third set.

In the final, Stephens put the finishing touches on her unforgettable summer with one of the most dominant performances in Grand Slam final history. She defeated Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in a borderline flawless performance.

In turn, over a span of 42 days, Stephens executed an unimaginable rise of 940 spots from No. 957 to No. 17 on the WTA Tour rankings.

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Winning the US Open was her crowning achievement, but the entire summer of 2017 belonged to Sloane Stephens.