By Erik Gudris | Monday, February 17, 2014
After losing in the opening round at Dubai, some have questioned Sloane Stephens and her on-court attitude. But is the criticism justified?
Photo Credit: AP
As has been the case for Sloane Stephens lately, it's another tournament and another early exit.
This time the exit came on Monday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where the American lost to Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-5. The defeat comes on the heels of Stephens losing in Doha the week before to Petra Cetkovska 7-5, 6-1. It was during that match in Doha that Tennis TV commentators Jason Goodall and Claire Wood openly criticized Stephens for what they perceived as a poor attitude.
"Sometimes I look at Sloane Stephens and I think, ‘Is she really enjoying being out there? Is she loving the challenge? Does she want to be playing at this level? It just isn’t always obvious that she’s enjoying it," Wood said.
After Stephens went down to the lefty swings of Safarova on Monday, former player and now TV commentator Anne Keothavong posted this message on Twitter shortly after calling the match.
Comments like these aimed at the 20-year-old are hardly new, but the fact that they continue to keep piling up only add to the recent paradox that is Stephens' career. While Stephens continues to post consistent results at the majors, including a fourth round showing in Melbourne last month, her results on the rest of the WTA tour are highly inconsistent. Especially for someone who is now becoming a mainstay of the top 20. Is Stephens an underachiever? Or is she still climbing a steep learning curve to becoming a better player?
While several rising stars on the WTA tour are getting attention these days, very few of them have to navigate the growing expectations placed on Stephens' shoulders. With her breakthrough semifinal run at last year's Australian Open well behind her, Stephens appears to be stuck in her development as a player. Though blessed with tremendous innate talent, Stephens often seems unable - or unwilling - to get herself out of tough matches when things aren't going her way. Her recent hiring of Paul Annacone, former coach of Roger Federer, is still in its early stages, but already some are wondering if Annacone can really help Stephens, especially if her on-court attitude doesn't improve.
Then there is Stephens' life off-court. The young American is certainly more popular with a growing list of sponsors of late, but she continues to have an uneasy relationship with both the media and many fans. Much of that stems from the very public backlash she received after she made comments in a magazine article about Serena Williams following her win over the now world No. 1 at the 2013 Australian Open. While both Stephens and Williams have moved on, many others have not. Dealing with her new fame - both the good and bad aspects of it - and not letting it distract her on court is still something Stephens will have to figure out.
Whether Stephens actually enjoys playing tennis is a question only she can answer. But it's too easy to look at two losing performances and use them as a window into Stephens' psyche. There are plenty of other players, even in the top 10, who look miserable during a losing effort. So should we then say that they are unhappy with the sport entirely just because of one match? The answer is no and that should be the same answer when considering Stephens and her recent losses.
After losing on Monday, Stephens admitted to Sport 360.com that she needed to work on her results outside of the Grand Slams. She also owned up to the fact that she is still getting used to being in the public eye and all of the massive hopes placed on her from a home nation desperate for a new star. Next up for her is a return trip back to the States to compete at Indian Wells and Miami. Win or lose, let's all remember that her life and career are still very much a work-in-progress, and the only one who can have the final say in that is Stephens herself.