Home

Tennis

‘Cried for a Week’ – Vulnerable Sloane Stephens Recalls the Time Her Ultimate Tennis Dream Was Shattered

Published 03/22/2024, 5:32 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Reuters

American tennis star Sloane Stephens speaks about her disappointing moment after losing the finals of the French Open tournament in 2018. Stephens always offered an impressive performance on the clay court. This made her fans strongly believe that Sloane Stephens might win the French Open title in 2018. However, this American WTA star lost the match to Simona Halep and her Grand Slam success paused for that moment.

Some tournaments take a special place in tennis players’ hearts and Stephens’s desire to win the Rolland Garros tournament was something similar. After six years of that loss, Stephens delves into her feelings of disappointment about it.

Sloane Stephens recalls her French Open loss to Simona Halep in 2018 as ‘absolutely devastating’

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

A reliable tennis fan shared a clip from Stephens’s recent podcast attendance on their X (formerly Twitter) profile. In this clip, fans spotted Stephens narrating her feelings about her defeat to Halep in 2018 and the reason, for which the loss mattered to her. Sloane Stephens commented- “I mean the US Open was great. I won the US Open right but I was in the French Open final and I didn’t win. It was like an absolute devastating. French Open was the only tournament that I like I ever wanted to win. Like, look, I have to win the French Open.”

When asked about her priority on that Slam, Stephens said-“I didn’t know. I always did so well there. I have made mmm… it’s my best slam. I have made it to the fourth round and the second week of the French Open for last ten years or twelve years like or so. Like it’s been my best slam with most matches and I was just I always wanted to like win there and when I didn’t it was like heart breaking.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Elaborating on her feelings, Stephens added, “So I cried like for a week. It was like devastating. But afterwards I was like ok maybe this wasn’t my time. I think it wasn’t meant for me to win the French Open.”

Stephens’s comments still echo her pain of losing her desired French Open title in 2018. After that, she might have won the US Open but that loss still makes her heart heavy.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

How did Sloane Stephens lose to Simona Halep in the French Open finals in 2018?

Sloane Stephens lost to Simona Halep in an intense game of finals at the French Open in 2018. Halep defeated the American WTA star by 3-6,6-4 and 6-1. Stephens offered a tough fight to Halep and the former world’s number one WTA star still managed to grab the victory.

After winning the match, Halep was exhausted. She said– “In the last game, I felt I could not breathe any more, I just did not want to repeat what happened last year. I am really thankful this has happened in Paris, my special city.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Sloane Stephens’s comment about her French Open loss in 2018 showcases that some losses are truly personal. No matter how many great performances this American tennis star offered, she couldn’t manage to forget this defeat.

Miami Open: Sloane Stephens Heaps Praise on the ‘Mecca of Tennis’ and How It Produced Champions Over the Decades

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Upasana Banerjee

1,242Articles

One take at a time

Upasana Banerjee is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. Specializing in major trends within the tennis world, Upasana's keen eye captures newsworthy moments in the world of sports. Her adept information mining makes her a go-to source for insights into players' lives.
Show More>

Edited by:

Shudh Mukherjee