“Nothing wrong with not being Novak Djokovic,” Sloane Stephens content with not having aspirations like Iga Swiatek
Sloane Stephens doesn't have ambitions like Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek as she is satisfied with not being a World No. 1 player.
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Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, Sloane Stephens (Images via X, Britannica, The New York Times)
Sloane Stephens made tennis fans understand that not every player has the same aspiration, that is, to be at the top of the game. Stephens, who achieved her best in the rankings when she reached third position in 2018, is content with not winning more Grand Slam trophies.
Stephens feels tennis has different kinds of players, the ambitious ones like 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, who want to achieve success after success, while the other category includes players who don’t aspire to be like them.
There’s nothing wrong with not being Novak Djokovic, not everyone can be the World No.1. In our case, I believe that Iga Swiatek is an amazing player, it’s great to be No. 1, but I wouldn’t want that job. There are certain people who do aspire to that, and precisely this is what makes tennis such a unique sport.
Sloane Stephens said (via Tennis Insider Club)
The 31-year-old, who turned pro in 2009, won her first Grand Slam title at the 2017 US Open. She was also a finalist at the 2018 French Open and the WTA Finals the same year.
Sloane Stephens explains the adversities tennis players deal with
For Sloane Stephens and many like her, tennis is a hectic sport, for players have difficult work to do daily which gives them stress. The World No. 75, however, joked that tennis is a ‘good job to stick with‘ as players get paid for simply putting on tennis outfits and playing a match ‘broadcast live on television‘.
Obviously, tennis also involves traveling many weeks for everything in the day-to-day is very hectic, which can make everything complicated and stressful. Every week, there are many adversities that people don’t see.
Sloane Stephens said (via Tennis Insider Club)
The way to fight fatigue and lack of motivation for Stephens is to have different goals when she goes on tour, explaining that on the Asian swing, she aimed to see the Great Wall of China. She is grateful to be a tennis player as it allows her to travel a lot and make tennis interesting as she feels it ‘would be terrible to have a desk job for 12 years‘.
Stephens was last seen in action in singles at the Korea Open where she got knocked out in the first round after losing in straight sets to compatriot Hailey Baptiste. She also played doubles in the tournament along with Su Jeong Jang and made it to the quarterfinals.
In Grand Slam events this season, Stephens was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open and in the first rounds of the French Open and US Open. She did not take part in the Wimbledon Championships.
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Gouri Das
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