Sloane Stephens made a direct promise to Sven Groeneveld before hiring him as coach earlier this month.
The 2017 US Open champion vowed to clean up her act.
More: Best of #RG19 Social Media
"I think with Sven we had sat down and had a full-blown conversation and I was like I'm going to get my shit together before I start working with you—wow, sorry," Stephens said after reaching the Roland Garros third round with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo. "And before I start working with you. And then so when I start working with you I'll have a clean slate, I'll be ready to learn, I'll be able to take in whatever you're saying.
"Yeah, I think it's worked so far. It's a good—not that it's good to start in the middle of the season, but for where we were and what we had to work with, I think that we have learned a lot in the last, like, month. Yeah, it's a weird process, like, getting to know someone, but at the same time, hopefully I keep him for a long time. I'll know everything about him."
A respected technician who has coached on the ATP and WTA Tours, Groeneveld has been an instructive and calming presence guiding several champions in the past. He coached Maria Sharapova for four years, guiding the former world No. 1 to her second Roland Garros title in 2014 when she fought off Simona Halep in a third-set battle.
Sharapova and Groeneveld split in March of 2018. Groeneveld has also coached Monica Seles, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Mary Pierce, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic, whom he guided to the 2008 Roland Garros crown and world No. 1 ranking.
Stephens split with former coach Kamau Murray, who guided her to the 2017 US Open title, earlier this year. Murray now coaches Olympic gold-medal champion Monica Puig.
"I looked at anyone and everyone, because I needed a coach bad," Stephens said. "But I didn't want to just settle for someone that I was, like, Okay, I'm just going to pick them because they are available. If I was going to be in that space I wanted to pick someone I really liked, that I could stick with and kind of learn from and grow with."
Struggling to a disappointing 10-7 start to 2019, Stephens said Groeneveld's direct, no-nonsense approach, is one reason she hired him.
"I have a really good, like, bullshit radar, so if it doesn't sound right, it's probably not right," Stephens said. "But, yeah, I think you have to kind of have a vibe with the person. You have to pick up on, you know, their energy.
"Like, if you're having a conversation and you're just, like, bouncing ideas off each other, it's flowing, and you kind of get a feel of, like, okay, this would work for me because I do get along with this person, we have the same views and thoughts. They're listening, I'm listening, that type of thing."
Photo credit: Sloane Stephens Twitter