Sloane Stephens is on a roll at the season’s first Grand Slam event, taking place in Melbourne. As an unseeded participant, the American tennis star breezed past the 14th-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina at the Australian Open. After prevailing in the second-round match, Stephens pulled off a wild celebration that later became a huge talking point for the media.

The former world No. 3 player was asked about her ‘big celebration,’ as the media deemed it a bit ‘more than usual.’ Answering the reporter, the former US Open champion later issued a blunt response in her post-match press conference.

Sloane Stephens on why she pulled off a wild celebration at the Australian Open

The 30-year-old showed incredible tenacity in her second-round match, turning it around after dropping the first set. With her sheer determination, Stephens rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 14 seed Kasatkina to reach the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2019. Emotions were running high for the American player as she celebrated in a wild manner while screaming on the court.

In view of her post-victory actions, Stephens was asked, “What made this one feel especially good when it was finished?” The former Grand Slam champion answered by saying that she is quite ‘happy’ to be playing tennis after experiencing a long off-season and having to fight through a lot on the court. She further asserted that emotions tend to run high at the start of the new season since players return to some on-court action after a lengthy period.

After this, the reporter further questioned,  “How is the emotion different than usual?” In her candid response, Stephens stated, “Well, normally you guys just talk sh*t about me and say how flat I am and unhappy I look on the court. This is the opposite of that. So whatever emotion you want to get from that…”

Stephens went on to open up about how she is “just happy to be out there fighting for every point.” on the court. After a stellar victory in the second round, the American WTA star will now square off against the unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya for a place in the round of 16 of the Grand Slam event.

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Do you think that Stephens can make it all the way to the championship of the Australian Open? Let us know in the comments section.

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