Sloane Stephens once stood in the Roland Garros final, and she rediscovered that clay form this week at the 2024 Rouen Open, going all the way.
This week in Rouen for the American has been one nobody saw coming, maybe including herself. At some point in her career, it seemed that she never really lived up to the expectations that she faced since winning the US Open title.
For example, she never became world number one, which she admits isn’t a regret of hers. She won a Grand Slam and reached the Roland Garros final, but back then, she lost in the final on the clay court.
Clay has been a solid surface for her over the years, though recently, she didn’t really have that much success on the red dirt. That changed this week because she put together some really solid showings to advance to the final of the WTA 250 event in France.
The draw was on her side because she faced Magda Linette, a player ranked as the world no. 60 and not seeded in Rouen, in the final. The final match was interesting, as fans saw three sets and some highlight plays.
Stephens crushed her opponent in the first set 6-1 but then ran into some big problems in the second set. The Polish player won that set 6-2, and it was mostly a momentum change.
The American player came out with full force in that first set, but things changed in the second one. Oddly enough, it flipped once again in the final set, when Stephens found her best tennis again and easily outplayed Linette.
The final score was 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 for Stephens, who won a Tour-level trophy for the first time in two years when she triumphed in Guadalajara. It’s a nice moment for the veteran, who will be happy to win a title again.
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