	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2019

Sloane Stephens

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you find navigating the new place so far?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Not too bad. I just go places that I know are still there, if that makes sense.

Q. How have the practices kind of been leading up, and have you been able to practice with other players, kind of get into match rhythm and point rhythm, all that sort of stuff?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I have been practicing. This is the longest I have been at a slam ever. It's been actually quite nice. Got a lot of shopping done, got to hang out. Some good.

I practiced with Vekic and Kontaveit. Yeah, I have had some good practices and just happy to be back here, obviously. I had a good year last year, so I just kind of want to back it up a little bit. That would be nice.

Q. A quick nontennis question. I'm wondering, because of your engagement and that relationship, do you follow women's soccer, and do you know any of the national team players who are going to be here in just about 10 days?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I do follow women's soccer as much as I follow men's soccer, so that's not that much (smiling).

I do obviously know a lot of the women players, but, yeah, I think it will be pretty exciting. Anything like that, huge sporting event is pretty incredible. Of course when the U.S. plays, everybody is going to be watching.

Q. Cycling back through your presser after last year's final and you said a lot of things, including many that were incredibly gracious in defeat, but you also mentioned that you learned from it, you move on. Now that you have had a year to reflect on that match and what it meant to you, is there anything you have learned from it?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah. I think obviously right after the final it was very emotional and it was, like, the world was ending type of thing, which it was definitely not.

But I allowed myself to keep going and to have more success and better results, and I had just a good outlook and I think that kind of allowed for me to see things differently. Obviously last year here I hadn't been playing back for a full year, so everything that I was doing was obviously icing on the top of a cake after winning a slam.

I think I kind of allowed myself to have those better results after the French Open, because I was happy and excited that I was able to do such great things in such a short time. And, yeah, now I'm just, you know, I'm looking forward to having more, better results. I think I will just try my best to allow myself for good things to happen, and, yeah, just hard work and some really good, positive vibes.

Q. You mentioned this is the longest you have ever been at a slam before it starts. You stayed in Rome for a few days after. I'm curious what you normally do to hide from the slams before they start?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Just like normally I play a tournament, I would be in a tournament somewhere. And this is, like, I don't know, the first time I haven't really -- I did it one year in Australia, I was injured, though. It wasn't bad. But, I mean, yeah, I like -- being in Paris extra is not -- who's complaining? Definitely not me (smiling).

Q. You have been mentioning with Sven kind of the word structure comes up a lot. I'm curious, in the first, you know, four months of your season, what did, like, a Sloane Stephens practice day kind of look like compared to what a Sloane Stephens practice day looks like now that I presume that you have somebody that kind of manages a lot of that sort of stuff, but what was it like to kind of have to fly and do all that sort of stuff solo?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I'm not gonna lie. It sucked. It was not enjoyable. A lot of the time it was -- I mean, it was just all over the show. We don't need to go back there. We are totally moving forward.

But, yeah, I mean, it just wasn't as fun. I wasn't having fun on the court. Just a lot of things were not where they should have been, and I think now with Sven having some structure and having someone who is, This is what we are trying to get, this is what we need to do, like, everything is in order. And, yeah, in my life, I think that's just what I needed at that moment, and he's been great so far. Obviously it's the beginning of a new partnership, so we are both learning each other and learning how to maneuver. But I think so far, so good. Things are good.

Even when, you know, you don't have the best result or you didn't do as you had wanted to, I think there are still positives there. Just allowing yourself to see the positives I think is how you're going to move forward.

Q. With a slam under your belt and everything, making another final, how do you measure success at this stage of your career? Like, how do you set bars for yourself?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I think for myself there is only a few things in tennis that I really, really, really wanted to do, and I'm kind of just putting my mind to it now so I can get there and do it, and I can leave the game how I want to on my terms.

I'm not leaving the game any time soon, don't worry (smiling). But I think making that point in my mind clear, like, this is what I really want to do, this is what I'm trying to get to, like, having Sven, having someone who really understands goals and what it takes to get there, yeah, it's definitely going to help me. Even when it's not going great, positive, it's just going to be the way forward. I think I'm just going to work hard to get to where I need to get, and you guys will be rid of me.

Q. Who said we wanted that?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I know, because I'm so fun, I know (smiling).

Q. Just to follow, you started the partnership with Sven. Did you sit down and have a big, long talk, or are you sort of taking it day by day in terms of working out the best kind of relationship?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I think obviously in the middle of the season it's a little bit tough to try to jump in with the whole, like, spiel of the three-hour talk and his philosophy. That's a lot, I think.

So now we are just kind of learning each other, maneuvering, trying to figure out the best ways to go forward, the best ways to compete, the best ways to maneuver the situation as it is, because obviously it's very tough for a coach to come in at that point of the year, it's tough for a player to adjust.

I think we are doing the best we can. Obviously I'm happy. I hope he's happy, as well.

But, yeah, we are just doing the best we can and just gonna keep working hard.

Q. Have you had your first fight?
SLOANE STEPHENS: No, I'm not really a fighter. I'm, like, Okay, let's just take a minute and we'll reconvene. Yeah, I'm not much of a fighter.

Q. Being based so much in Toronto now, that's not a normal tennis center for -- usually everyone goes south and you went north. Curious what the challenges are of having Toronto as a base or if it's as easy as anywhere in the world?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I think the good thing about tennis is you can practice anywhere, you can play anywhere, you can find someone to play with. Wherever I go, I always seem to find someone to practice with or work out with or whatever. So I think it's not too bad. The only thing bad about it is it's really, really, really cold, so that's, like, the only not-fun part about it.

Q. Simona was in here, obviously defending champion, and she was asked, Are you maybe too happy these days to win? And she's, like, Probably. I'm curious, from your perspective, having won a slam and you're coming back here with a big result, as well, is tennis more fun for you now compared to when it was, like, five years ago, or was it actually more fun when you didn't have the pressure and expect -- well, you've always had the pressure and expectations. Do you know what I mean?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I think there are points in your career where it's up and down and rocky and then there is no pressure and then there is a ton of pressure. Then there's nobody cares, no one has talked to you, that's when you get your best results. It's very up and down. I definitely get what she's saying.

But, yeah, I think now at this moment I'm like, Yeah, win, great. There has been points where it's, like, Oh, this is terrible. It's a bumpy road. It's a long journey. I feel like I loved it five years ago as much as I love it now. I think I have just grown a lot and I have been through a lot, and I didn't know half as much now than I did then.

I was young and everything was, like, Oh, it's so much fun. I think now it's more business and there is a lot more that goes into it. Now I feel like I have old knees and a bad shoulder and all this stuff, but, like, not really, okay. You don't have to write it.

I just feel like my perspective on things is changed. Like, before, I was, I don't have to go to the trainer, I'm going to go to the movies. Things were different. Yeah, I think just as a person, as a player I have grown a lot. And even with you guys, a lot has happened and you have to go with it and maneuver the best you can and manage the ups and downs.

Q. Did you practice on that new Simonne Mathieu Court?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I did. The greenhouse.

Q. What did you think? What did you think of that court in and of itself?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool. It's a bit far, you have to go a bit of a ways and I had to walk, so I was, like, Oh, my God.

Yeah, it's beautiful over there. The greenhouse on the outside is really nice. I think it's a great court. They did a really nice job with it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297