“I think when anyone has a Grand Slam champion in front of their name, it changes things a little bit. So I don't know if I have arrived or already arrived, been arrived, I don't know. But I do know I'm a U.S. Open champion. So whatever that means to you," said Sloane Stephens, after winning the US. Open Tennis Championship.
The win was an incredible achievement for Sloan Stephens, who just 11 months ago, could barely walk, after a serious injury. Her win over her American compatriot and challenger Madison Keys, was a clear resounding victory, with 6-3 and 6-0, in just 61 minutes.
After her injury, Sloane Stephens came back to tennis, a very low ranking, that had sunk No. 957. Slowly her ranking rose to reach No. 83, prior to the US Open. With that ranking and the win, she has become the lowest-ranked player in history to win a Grand Slam title.
The win brought in a surprising gift of $3.7 million to Sloane Stephens, who is 24 years old.
The question is now whether, with Sloane Stephens' win, a new era of US Women Tennis, an after- WIlliams Sisters, is opening. Venus Williams was eliminated in semi-finals, whereas her sister, Serena Williams, who just got a baby, did not participate in the US Open. Both sisters are more than 35 years old.
