When it comes to remembering the timeless WTA legends, the on-court rivalry between Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams is one of the first that comes to mind. While Serena is out of the tennis scene now that she has hung her racket for good, she found herself out of Stephens’ recent verdict as well.

True fans would surely remember the 2013 Australian Open quarter-final match between Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens. While Stephens was recently exposed to a query about the match, she appeared to be lost in just herself.

Sloane Stephens ignores Serena Williams as she opens up about the iconic 2013 Australian Open match

In a recent interview, tennis star Sloane Stephens took a trip down memory lane as she opened up about her 2013 quarter-final win over Serena Williams at the Australian Open. While everyone expected a regular verdict that might have included a comparison between the two stars, Stephens seemed more focused on her own journey than acknowledging her opponent’s contribution to the match.

“Man, I was so cute and young before tennis took the life out of me, my goodness,” Stephens mentioned, reflecting on her younger days. “This was like a time when everything was easy, you know?” Despite the historic of defeating Serena Williams, Stephens’ comments failed to mention the tennis legend which was nothing less than a snub for her.

Stephens’ apparent self-obsession in the interview left fans in a situation of doubt about whether her focus on personal nostalgia was bigger than the respect she owed to Serena Williams. As Stephens continues is still a part of the sport, her verdict added a different perspective in the minds of the fans.

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A long-built rivalry on the tennis courts

This isn’t the first time when Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams went up against each other. As their on-court rivalry has been existing for a long time, fans witnessed several similar moments down the line. While Serena has always had a calm approach towards her opponents, she treated Stephens in the same way.

Back in 2020, when the rivalry between the two was at its peak moments, Serena mentioned how Stephens has always been a tough opponent. “She’s a great competitor,” she said. Along with that, she also admitted to her rival’s strength as she added, “She’s a great player. You can’t win a Grand Slam and not be really, really, really, really, really good.” This difference between the two tennis stars marks two different approaches tennis players could use, even during moments of rivalry.

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