Sloane Stephens: out of shape and underachieving

[McEnborg]

Aside from being 15 pounds overweight, her game has not evolved at all. She often looks slow and listless on the court. No evidence of any stroke improvement and her results over the last 2 2/3 years have mostly been terrible. She was supposed to be a top 3-5 player consistently. After thrashing Keys in the 2017 US Open final, it looked like she was gonna take off.

Instead, she often plays error prone, sloppy tennis with lazy footwork. Whoever is coaching her has done a terrible job. She should be in her prime and having gotten better. Instead, she has regressed and throwing away her potential. She also seems a bit in love with promoting herself in photos and such, kind of like Bouchard and Svitolina. She appears mentally lazy and lacking the will to win. Ridiculous actually.

It’s her life but she’ll regret her lack of focus one day when she looks back.

 

[JackSockIsTheBest]

SH

 

[JackSockIsTheBest]

IT

 

[atatu]

Yeah it's really unfortunate, I think she is just happy to win one slam and call it a good career.

 

[Rosstour]

I think for a lot of us it’s hard to understand why not every player wants to be Djok or Serena.

But the life for a high-profile, well-known player with even a bit of success...that’s “enough” for most people.

I know if I had the talent to be a pro, I might be satisfied with putting in minimal effort and just being a top-30 player with that.

She has already had a better career than Bouchard or Kournikova so let’s not get carried away with comparisons.

 

[Tennease]

She's hawt.

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[King No1e]

Not at all uncommon. For every ATG who maxed out their talent, there are a few one-Slam wonders who didn't.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Sloane is the Naomi of tennis

 

[MeatTornado]

I think for a lot of us it’s hard to understand why not every player wants to be Djok or Serena.

But the life for a high-profile, well-known player with even a bit of success...that’s “enough” for most people.

I know if I had the talent to be a pro, I might be satisfied with putting in minimal effort and just being a top-30 player with that.

She has already had a better career than Bouchard or Kournikova so let’s not get carried away with comparisons.

Couldn't agree more. Generalizing here, but most of the top athletes in any sport are absolute psychos. It already takes so much effort to become a consistent professional in any sport, but the dedication, drive and determination to be a Djokovic or Serena hurts my brain to even think about.

If you're not in the running for the greatest of all time or able to break records, it would be hard not to start coasting once you've won a slam and become a multi millionaire. Train enough to stay competitive but don't go crazy over it. Go out there and have some fun. Someone like Sloane has nothing to prove anymore. Worst case scenario is retiring as a "one-slam wonder," a pejorative that 99% of all players who ever picked up a racket would kill to be known as.

 

[MeatTornado]

After thrashing Keys in the 2017 US Open final, it looked like she was gonna take off.

No she didn't. That run came out of nowhere for both players and Madison played awful in the final. There was no reason to think she would translate into a consistent slam contender because she had 1 good tournament. These expectations get put on every 1st time winner without ever looking at the context around them.

 

[Rosstour]

Couldn't agree more. Generalizing here, but most of the top athletes in any sport are absolute psychos. It already takes so much effort to become a consistent professional in any sport, but the dedication, drive and determination to be a Djokovic or Serena hurts my brain to even think about.

If you're not in the running for the greatest of all time or able to break records, it would be hard not to start coasting once you've won a slam and become a multi millionaire. Train enough to stay competitive but don't go crazy over it. Go out there and have some fun. Someone like Sloane has nothing to prove anymore. Worst case scenario is retiring as a "one-slam wonder," a pejorative that 99% of all players who ever picked up a racket would kill to be known as.

Yeah, same.

I have dreams sometimes of being a pro tennis player or racing driver, and in those dreams I’m always like a top-100 player or backmarker F1 driver. Those are still great dreams.

When you use the word “psycho” you couldn’t be more right. Every GOAT has something that sets them apart from normal people, which in another venue could be viewed as negative (narcissism, sociopathy) but is admired when they find a track that garners them fame and fortune.

My Dad is a “great” in his field and he has gone about as far with it as possible while still being somewhat normal. But even he can be be very distant and remote, almost unreachable at times. To this day even in his semi-retirement I know that I have to wait my turn and that “the work” is never completely off his mind. He doesn’t get burned out the same way normal folks do.

Fed is the most normal of our modern greats, the rest of them seem like total nuts with deep personality deficiencies. That extends even down into the second and third tier of players.

 

[McEnborg]

No she didn't. That run came out of nowhere for both players and Madison played awful in the final. There was no reason to think she would translate into a consistent slam contender because she had 1 good tournament. These expectations get put on every 1st time winner without ever looking at the context around them.

Well, she did beat Barty, in straight sets, beat Venus, beat a few other good players.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

No she didn't. That run came out of nowhere for both players and Madison played awful in the final. There was no reason to think she would translate into a consistent slam contender because she had 1 good tournament. These expectations get put on every 1st time winner without ever looking at the context around them.

It wasn't as out of the blue as Ostapenko or perhaps Bartoli. Sloane was out of the game for just under a year with injuries and built herself up immensely instead of returning to tour unprepared. When she returned she lost her first two matches (to quality players) and then made the SF of both the Premier 5 Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open with huge wins over Kvitova, Kerber, Goerges and more.

 

[MeatTornado]

Fed is the most normal of our modern greats

It might all be an act, but I really want to believe he's the guy he portrays himself as; someone who just loves the game and doesn't let losses bother him

 

[MeatTornado]

Well, she did beat Barty, in straight sets, beat Venus, beat a few other good players.

Barty wasn't Barty yet. They met early because Ash wasn't even seeded back then. The Venus win I vaguely remember being quality, but 37 year old #9 seed Venus was the only top 10 player she faced. Even with the trophy in hand, it should take more than conquering that soft draw to think this oft-injured, career underachiever to that point was going to "take off."

 

[Rosstour]

It might all be an act, but I really want to believe he's the guy he portrays himself as; someone who just loves the game and doesn't let losses bother him

I think it is a total fantasy to believe that the losses do not bother him. But his love for the game is stronger than that, as is his belief in himself. I think there’s another side to him that we do not get to see, the side that gets angry. We do see it creep out every now and again when he’s not playing well, and we saw it quite a bit during his formative years.

there are also indications that he does live a completely abnormal, elite lifestyle. For example, two sets of twins, two boys and two girls? To me that suggests obvious designer pregnancy that is only available to the most wealthy and elite citizens of our world. But for the most part, the words of other players about his behavior and friendly attitude have to count for something. Apparently he has a knack for remembering things even about other players that will sometimes leave them stunned and elated. So the Fed that we see is to an extent the real man.

 

[Red Rick]

I think for a lot of us it’s hard to understand why not every player wants to be Djok or Serena.

But the life for a high-profile, well-known player with even a bit of success...that’s “enough” for most people.

I know if I had the talent to be a pro, I might be satisfied with putting in minimal effort and just being a top-30 player with that.

She has already had a better career than Bouchard or Kournikova so let’s not get carried away with comparisons.

They all could be Djokovic or Serena, if only they wanted it enough.

How many ATP players are there that won one Slam then gave up in the last 20 years.

 

[Red Rick]

No she didn't. That run came out of nowhere for both players and Madison played awful in the final. There was no reason to think she would translate into a consistent slam contender because she had 1 good tournament. These expectations get put on every 1st time winner without ever looking at the context around them.

Very obviously failed to account for WTAness

 

[clayqueen]

Aside from being 15 pounds overweight, her game has not evolved at all. She often looks slow and listless on the court. No evidence of any stroke improvement and her results over the last 2 2/3 years have mostly been terrible. She was supposed to be a top 3-5 player consistently. After thrashing Keys in the 2017 US Open final, it looked like she was gonna take off.

Instead, she often plays error prone, sloppy tennis with lazy footwork. Whoever is coaching her has done a terrible job. She should be in her prime and having gotten better. Instead, she has regressed and throwing away her potential. She also seems a bit in love with promoting herself in photos and such, kind of like Bouchard and Svitolina. She appears mentally lazy and lacking the will to win. Ridiculous actually.

It’s her life but she’ll regret her lack of focus one day when she looks back.

You need to add a photo of her before and after weight.

 

[fed1]

It was hilarious listening to the match on Tennis Channel, Lindsay Davenport danced around the subject of what was wrong with Sloane, she couldn’t bring herself to say the obvious, she’s dreadfully out of shape.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Sloane is the Naomi of tennis

Serena’s 2021 AO outfit.

 

[MeatTornado]

I think it is a total fantasy to believe that the losses do not bother him. But his love for the game is stronger than that, as is his belief in himself. I think there’s another side to him that we do not get to see, the side that gets angry. We do see it creep out every now and again when he’s not playing well, and we saw it quite a bit during his formative years.

there are also indications that he does live a completely abnormal, elite lifestyle. For example, two sets of twins, two boys and two girls? To me that suggests obvious designer pregnancy that is only available to the most wealthy and elite citizens of our world. But for the most part, the words of other players about his behavior and friendly attitude have to count for something. Apparently he has a knack for remembering things even about other players that will sometimes leave them stunned and elated. So the Fed that we see is to an extent the real man.

I shouldn't say they don't bother him, but he says that he doesn't dwell on them and let them linger, and that I can believe. Other pros use losses for motivation and hope they face the same player/team again so they can get revenge. I think Roger just wants to win and doesn't really care what about the who or where.

 

[zipplock]

Yeah it's really unfortunate, I think she is just happy to win one slam and call it a good career.

Maybe she never had a true passion for tennis. A slam and financially set for life sounds like a pretty good return on investment. Not everyone has the drive to be the best, in fact, those that do are the exception in my opinion.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Well, she did beat Barty, in straight sets, beat Venus, beat a few other good players.

Barty wasn't Barty yet. They met early because Ash wasn't even seeded back then. The Venus win I vaguely remember being quality, but 37 year old #9 seed Venus was the only top 10 player she faced. Even with the trophy in hand, it should take more than conquering that soft draw to think this oft-injured, career underachiever to that point was going to "take off."

Gotta agree with @MeatTornado here.

If you look at Sloane's title run from afar look it looks super impressive.

1R: Vinci - USO finalist
2R: Cibulkova - AO Finalist
3R: Barty - future #1 and RG champ
4R: Goerges - future top 10 player
QF: Sevastova - Beat Sloane in the QF the following year
SF: Venus - former #1 and 7x slam champ
Final: Keys - top 10 player

But if you take a closer look where they were at the point of the 2017 USO:

1R: Vinci: washed up 2015 slam finalist who was no longer seeded
2R: Cibulkova: Player who hadn't achieved anything since winning the 2016 YEC
3R; Barty: A then nobody who had won just 1 career title
4R: Goerges: Also a nobody with just 2 career titles
QF: Sevastova: Also a nobody
SF: Venus: Player who had a good year but hadn't won a slam in 9 years
Final: Keys: First time slam finalist who was known to choke under pressure

 

[Ronaldo]

Sloane is the Naomi of tennis

No love for Orlando?

 

[Gary Duane]

Couldn't agree more. Generalizing here, but most of the top athletes in any sport are absolute psychos.

It's a bit over the top to call anyone a "psycho" who is not driven to be the best in the world, at any cost. I'll wager you and I would more enjoy spending time with some of these "psychos" than the Big 3.

 

[Ronaldo]

Yeah it's really unfortunate, I think she is just happy to win one slam and call it a good career.

Finalist at the French Open and winning the Miami Open may be pretty sweet too. Just those losing streaks seem unfathomable.

 

[Rosstour]

I shouldn't say they don't bother him, but he says that he doesn't dwell on them and let them linger, and that I can believe. Other pros use losses for motivation and hope they face the same player/team again so they can get revenge. I think Roger just wants to win and doesn't really care what about the who or where.

I used to think so too, but Fed definitely enjoys revenge wins.

Almost every shock loss of 2018 and 2019 was avenged somewhere. No one can get him twice in a row outside of Djoker.

 

[haqq777]

Sloane Stephens is 15 pounds overweight? Okay then.

 

[McEnborg]

You need to add a photo of her before and after weight.

I can look but I’m going by what I saw yesterday. Extra weight in her stomach, butt, arms, back..upper body in general. I know people have different body types but I can clearly see extra, unnecessary weight. Kind of what we used to see with Kvitova and many times with Serena. For a pro with everything at their disposal for supreme fitness, and a limited time of being in “prime mode”, I personally think it’s ridiculous.

 

[travlerajm]

I recall seeing an article on her eating habits, where she says she really loves chicken korma.

And she used to date Jack Sock.

 

[MeatTornado]

I used to think so too, but Fed definitely enjoys revenge wins.

Almost every shock loss of 2018 and 2019 was avenged somewhere. No one can get him twice in a row outside of Djoker.

I think that just speaks more to why they were shock losses to begin with. He's generally the better player against anyone in the world not named Novak so the odds of him losing 2 in a row are very slim.

 

[MeatTornado]

It's a bit over the top to call anyone a "psycho" who is not driven to be the best in the world, at any cost. I'll wager you and I would more enjoy spending time with some of these "psychos" than the Big 3.

No I'm calling the Big 3 psychos.

 

[haqq777]

I recall seeing an article on her eating habits, where she says she really loves chicken korma.

I don't blame her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And she used to date Jack Sock

Yeah, that is all on her though, lol

 

[tacou]

uhh please do not compare Elina to Genie and (current) Sloan.

 

[fed1]

I’ve said this in the past about Sloane, I feel she likes the celebrity aspect of being a tennis player but she does not like the commitment/professionalism it takes to be a top tennis player.

 

[travlerajm]

I’ve said this in the past about Sloane, I feel she likes the celebrity aspect of being a tennis player but she does not like the commitment/professionalism it takes to be a top tennis player.

I think she has a future as a tennis commentator.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Didn’t know she was still playing tennis.

 

[fed1]

Didn’t know she was still playing tennis.

Just barely

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Sloane being Sloane. But I would not surprised if she made another slam final.

She almost beat Simona at French Open. Being in 2 slam final and winning one of them is great feat.

 

[travlerajm]

Sloane being Sloane. But I would not surprised if she made another slam final.

She almost beat Simona at French Open. Being in 2 slam final and winning one of them is great feat.

I think she has been distracted planning her wedding.

 

[MurraysMetalHip]

Sloane is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

 

[MichaelNadal]

No love for Orlando?

How did you escape from Odds and Ends?

 

[fed1]

Sloane being Sloane. But I would not surprised if she made another slam final.

She almost beat Simona at French Open. Being in 2 slam final and winning one of them is great feat.

She’d have to get past the first round to win a slam and lately that’s been a challenge and look at the rankings of the players she’s losing to, yikes.

 

[jm1980]

Isn't she married to some guy who is rich and famous? She is set now, no need to put in any effort into her career

 

[ohiostate124]

Man, her arms are yuge.

 

[atatu]

Isn't she married to some guy who is rich and famous? She is set now, no need to put in any effort into her career

Soccer player, I think she probably earns more than he does ?

Dang Keys looks good vs. Kenin, feel like she should have a better career than Sloane.

 

[Ronaldo]

How did you escape from Odds and Ends?

Traveled in a pr of YZY Qntms

 

[Gary Duane]

No I'm calling the Big 3 psychos.

Well, that's still not the word I was use, but I think I know what you mean. That kind of single-minded devotion to being the best in the world produces amazing success, but I don't think it does much to make a great human being.

 

[fed1]

Soccer player, I think she probably earns more than he does ?

Dang Keys looks good vs. Kenin, feel like she should have a better career than Sloane.

Unfortunately Keys is the poster child for inconsistency.