Sloane Stephens Raises American Hopes As Her Bid to Australian Open Inches Closer

Every point carries extra weight for Sloane Stephens. Arriving in Melbourne for the Australian Open, the Grand Slam champion has her eyes locked on a main draw spot. Ranked No. 1,097, the American used a special ranking of No. 115 to enter the qualifying draw. So far, she’s handled the pressure with grit, taking down Barbora Palicova in her opener and now Olivia Gadecki in the second round. But one match still stands between Stephens and her fate.

Stephens battled past Olivia Gadecki 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the final round of qualifying. The 32-year-old showed her trademark resilience, saving seven of nine break points and keeping her unforced errors to just 27, nearly half of Gadecki’s 53. Composed and crafty, Stephens played smart when it mattered. With that win, she’s now one victory away from making the main draw for the 14th time in her career.

“[I’m] just playing with no regrets,” Sloane Stephens said post-match. “When you still have that competitive energy and competitive fire, and you can find a way out of matches like today – it’s not like the best tennis I’ve ever played, it’s not the prettiest – but it’s still fun and it’s a good fight, it’s still adrenaline and energy, and figuring it out, it’s all strategy.”

It’s been quite a road back for the 2013 Australian Open semifinalist. This week marks Sloane Stephens’s first Grand Slam qualifying appearance since Wimbledon 2011, when an 18-year-old version of her bowed out in the second round to Nina Bratchikova. That same year, she defeated Gadecki 6-3, 6-1 before dropping their next two meetings.

In Melbourne, the former US Open champion looked sharp again. She stopped Barbora Palicova 6-1, 7-5 to snap a 13-match losing streak and keep her comeback alive. Now 32, Stephens is taking things in stride, choosing to “go with the flow” after spending part of last year in the broadcast booth while recovering from injury. That time away has only deepened her hunger to compete again.

“I’m going to enjoy [it] and see what happens, it’s nice to just be out here, all of this is just like a cherry on top.”

Still, after injury setbacks and a brief shift in career focus, critics have suggested that retirement might be an option. But that’s not in Sloane’s playbook.

Sloane Stephens hits back at critics ahead of Australian Open main draw

After lifting her first Grand Slam trophy eight years ago and following it up with a WTA 1000 triumph at the 2018 Miami Open, Stephens seemed untouchable. But by 2019, her momentum started to fade. The spark that once defined her slipped bit by bit, and critics began to whisper louder about her future. But Sloane has never been one to back away, she hit right back.

“People don’t have any filter,” Sloane Stephens said in early 2025. “They also don’t realize that you’re another human being. They would never say it to your face. It actually prohibits people from putting their lives out there because they don’t want to be judged. It’s all about what the athlete can handle, right? ‘You should retire?’”

“I’m like, ‘If these people are still paying me, I’m not going.’ I think people don’t realize, if someone was paying you a lot of money, you wouldn’t quit your job. You wouldn’t leave your job.”

Her results didn’t help quiet the noise. After beating Elsa Jacquemot in the 2024 Wimbledon first round, the former world No. 3 dropped her next six matches through the rest of the season. Things didn’t improve in 2025 either, as she went 0-6 and fell in the Auckland opener.

But here in Melbourne, she’s found her spark again, battling her way into the third round of qualifiers. Next up is the second seed, Lucia Bronzetti.

It’s going to be a tough test, but also another chance for Stephens to remind everyone why she’s never out of the fight. Will she punch her ticket back to the main draw? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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