Stephens overcomes 'unnecessary stress' for 2018 WTA Finals debut

SINGAPORE - Sloane Stephens turned pro in 2009, and there hasn’t been much the American has yet to accomplish in the ensuing decade, winning maiden major and Premier Mandatory titles at the US and Miami Open, respectively.

Still, it’s been a while since Stephens has played a round robin tournament, and none quite like like the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“I haven't played a round robin since I started playing tennis at Sierra Sport and Racquet Club, and you had to play the round robin to advance in your ladder,” she explained during her All Access Hour interview.

“I was, like, ten. So I'm really not sure how it works. I saw the chart and everything. But I think you just play and try to win and whatever happens happens. I'm sure [WTA Supervisor] Laura Ceccarelli is an expert at that and she will figure it out.”

Stephens admitted to feeling jet lagged after her flight to the Lion City, but it didn’t stop the 25-year-old extrovert from corralling her fellow Top 8 players together during the Iconic Photoshoot and group selfie, cracking jokes as cameras flashed.

“It's definitely fun, a lot of pictures, a lot of group activities together. It's a tournament of eight players, so this is the only time of the year that this happens for us. At a Grand Slam, there is a lot of faces you don't know, a lot of qualifiers, people you have never even seen before.

“Here is obviously special, seven other girls that you know pretty well that you see frequently throughout the year. It's just fun to be here with them and kind of bond a little bit better.”

The pre-tournament weekend comes as a relief to the former World No.3, who spent a grueling Asian Swing in search of making her WTA Finals debut, falling just short last year after winning the US Open.

“I don't play my best in Asia. I haven't had great results in Asia. So I just really wanted to make the most of it this season.

“By the time I got to Beijing, I'm like, ‘I'm not playing badly. I just need to win a match,’ like I need to figure it out. I think winning those two matches were very good for me, because I was putting a lot of pressure on myself.”

Early losses at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open made the China Open an all-important event for the American, who fought through back-to-back wins to all but clinch qualification in Singapore.

“Obviously I wanted to make it here. Everyone wanted to make it here. So everyone was kind of tense and there was a lot of, you know, unwanted and unnecessary stress. I think to win those two matches was big, because I kind of had to fight my way through. I was happy with that.”

With that pressure off, Stephens might be at her most dangerous, playing a big tournament with only the sport’s biggest names in attendance, starting with reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka.

“I made it to where I wanted to make it. So now I'm happy to be here, this is so exciting, this place is beautiful, the pool is amazing. You get to where you want to go and then you're able to play, right?

“Hopefully I will play well here. I have been practicing a lot and this was one of my big goals for the year. There was a lot of unnecessary stress that was not needed [in Asia]. That definitely affects your game and it affected literally everyone because we were all losing matches we should never have been losing.

“I think that getting here, we all will be able to relax a bit and play some good tennis.”

Stephens plays Osaka first on Monday evening to open play for the Red Group.