U.S. Open Champion Sloane Stephens Is Set To Defend Her Title In New York And Defy Her Critics

YOUTH TENNIS CLINICS, LIKE THE ONE REIGNING U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens is holding for some two dozen children in Washington, D.C., on this stifling summer afternoon, tend to be lighthearted affairs known in the trade as a hit and giggle. Pro player lobs a few shots to the kiddies, waves to the cameras, signs some autographs. Sponsor gets exposure, star gives back, kids pick up some tips—everyone goes home happy.

- Sean Gregory

Stephens, however, doesn’t like such “foo-foo”— her words—affairs. “Hustle!” she yells at a group of 11-year-olds not moving fast enough for her liking. “Come on, pay attention!” she barks when eyes wander. “Hey, hey, hey,” Stephens says when some kids balk at her command to run sprints on the indoor courts. “You guys are going to have an attitude when you didn’t finish what you started?”

During a break, one girl walked to the sideline. “They said she was going to be nicer,” she griped to her mother.

A few hours later, Stephens is sitting sideways on a hotel lobby couch and laughs when I relay the young girl’s words. “I want to see you hit, I want to see your strokes, I want to see you run,” Stephens, 25, says of her tough-love approach. “If I’m going to spend an hour-and-a-half of my time, we’re going to get sh-t done.”

Lately, no other American woman not named Williams has gotten more done on the tennis court than Stephens. Last September in New York, she became the first American player—male or female— besides the Williams sisters to win a major tournament singles title in 14 years. That she did it after missing nearly a year because of injury and about one month removed from being ranked 957th was particularly striking, as was her reaction. “Oh my God,” Stephens was caught mouthing on TV before receiving the $3.7 million winner’s check. When asked then if her first Grand Slam title made her want more, Stephens spared all cliché: “Of course, girl. Did you see that check that lady handed me?”