Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens experienced a heartbreaking first-round exit at the French Open when she lost to Sara Bejlek in straight sets on Sunday. Instead of dwelling on the defeat, Stephens swiftly shifted her focus to her next goal at the tournament.
The 2018 French Open finalist began her role as a commentator for TNT Sports, covering upcoming women’s singles matches, a move that surprised many fans. In her debut as a tennis broadcaster, Stephens highlighted the confident and positive mindset of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka before her opening match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday. Sabalenka eventually secured victory in straight sets.
Fans were quick to share their comments about Stephens quickly moving on from her opening-round loss in Paris.
“Sloane be booked. Lost and already commentating,” one fan commented.
“She got her bag and then went back to work. Love that for her,” another fan commented.
“She’s so fine, so I don’t mind it one bit,” yet another fan commented.
Some other fans took the other route and slyly trolled the former World No. 3 for rushing towards her new gig at Roland Garros.
“Copped a 100 bands for the appearance fee and picked up the mic on the way to do some TV, iktr,” one fan commented.
“Sloan said she looks at the draw and moves accordingly,” another fan commented.
“That mic was waiting for her in the locker room, along with her dry cleaning zipped up,” yet another fan commented.
Sloane Stephens Praised Aryna Sabalenka’s Winning Mindset
During her conversation with fellow TNT Sports broadcasters, Stephens was very clear and articulate while sharing her opinion on Sabalenka’s resilient mindset that helps her overcome adversities during difficult challenges on tour.
“Well, I don’t know, I think she gets over things really well and very quickly, so that’s also a good thing. I do think the tough losses that she did have, her coaches are probably telling her, you were close; it was there; you just didn’t execute, which is fine; that’s something to, you fake it till you make it type of thing… She’s super aggressive,” Stephens said.
“I think that it’s more of it’s all on her; it’s her emotional strength, her how she plays, how she comes out, how she feels, and it’ll be interesting to see, but I think she’s world number one, she plays aggressively all the time, and she’s going to come out and do that same thing today,” she added.
Although the previous year’s finalist advanced to the second round, Stephens will strive to be a valuable part of the broadcasting team until the conclusion of the second Grand Slam of the year here in Paris on June 6, the women’s singles final.
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