How Stephens is navigating success on and off the court

By virtually any standard, Sloane Stephens is living her best life -- or anyone else’s for that matter.
Stephens meets Yulia Putintseva
And Wednesday, she earned a relatively easy win against 6-2, 6-1 win against Varvara Grecheva to reach the third round of the French Open.
Maybe life does begin at 30, a milestone she passed on the first day of spring back in March.
French Open Day: Scores | Order of play | Draw
So, why was Stephens, who will be featured in Part 2 of Netflix's Break Point, laboring in the relative obscurity of a WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo, France the first week of May? Certainly, it seemed beneath her. Stephens would win all five of her matches -- the highest-ranked opponent was Jessika Ponchet
“I think going to Saint-Malo was a good choice for me obviously to get more matches and get a win there and get some confidence,” said Stephens, who defeated Elina Svitolina
At Roland Garros, where she advanced all the way to the final in 2018, Stephens has been in vintage form. She knocked off No.16 seed Karolina Pliskova
How much does Stephens love Paris? Record-wise it’s her best Grand Slam, and she’s now won her opening match there 11 years in a row. The only time she missed was as an 18-year-old qualifier when she lost to Elena Baltacha.
More from the French Open
- Kasatkina hits hot shot in victory
- Pegula reaches French Open third round after Giorgi retires
- Svitolina pulls off comeback win over Hunter at Roland Garros
- Stearns quickly learning what separates the great players on tour
“Coming into last season to the French Open, I didn’t win any matches before, so obviously I have had a lot of different scenarios coming into the French Open,” said Stephens, who is ranked No. 30. “But this year my goal was to get a lot of matches.”
And that’s just how it’s played out. Putintseva, though, will be a tough out. They’ve played five times and Putintseva holds a 3-2 edge, based on their most recent meeting in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open. Putintseva is coming off an impressive three-set win over No.19 seed Zheng Qinwen.
If the seeds hold, the winner would face No.2 Aryna Sabalenka
“My professional career outside of tennis has been amazing,” she said. “I have been able to do incredible things, and a lot of the work and things behind the scenes I have been very proud of. I think that obviously with tennis being an 11-month sport it does limit you and the things you’re passionate about outside of tennis. I do think you have to make a lot of sacrifices in terms of whether it’s going to be tennis or your other passions and things that you want to do.”
Athletes, of course, are usually measured by the narrow range of their accomplishments in the arena, not with a longer lens.
“Some people may say that I didn’t do everything I should have done in tennis,” Stephens said, “but I think in life when you can be proud of the things that you have done and the choices and decisions that you make for yourself.
“At the end of the day that’s all that really matters.”