Sloane Stephens winning the US Open in 2017 was one of the most shocking results in recent memory. Interestingly, the player herself too had to face a major challenge because of that victory. The sudden rise to the top and all the spotlight made adjusting to it all a bit challenging for her.

Her comeback at the hard-court major was anticipated, but no one grasped the situation of her form. Stephens had come back stronger and with a fixed goal in her mind. She clinched her first grand slam title and stunned the whole world with her astounding comeback.

Sloane Stephens on dealing with the aftermath of the US Open victory

Stephens made a comeback at Wimbledon 2017 and after that, she was active on hard-court tours. However, despite that nobody saw the upcoming astounding victory. The player herself had to deal with a completely new environment where all the spotlight was on her. She talked in a podcast about her usual lifestyle before winning the major. She said, “I had gone totally off the map, totally off the radar. Not playing any tournaments at all, not being on social media. Living my lowest key life ever.”

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Winning the major changed her life, and she said, “So, winning the US Open was so painful because I went into a full media roundhouse and sponsors and obligations and appearances.”

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Why was Stephens so affected by the US Open victory?

However, she acknowledged the reason behind it and said, “It was so overwhelming but only because I hadn’t been playing at all, hadn’t been doing any media at all, I hadn’t been traveling for work.” She concluded, “I didn’t have any of the work adversity happening because I wasn’t playing and then winning brought whole another realm of stuff. “

At the US Open, she defeated Ashleigh Barty in the third round and Venus Williams in the semi-finals to reserve a place in the finals. She defeated fellow American player Madison Keys in the finals to become the reigning champion of the hard-court major.

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A similar effect was on the US Open 2021 champion, Emma Raducanu, who won the tour and gained immense fame. Naturally, the subsequent performance of players is highly scrutinized because of the sudden rise to the top.