“Never meet your heroes. They’ll surely disappoint”. Well, it’s a common phrase, and one that concerns the complex dynamics of Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams. The Williams sisters have been dominant forces in tennis since the 1990s, inspiring countless players. Sloane Stephens was one of those inspired, but their relationship took a surprising turn after an incident at the Federation Cup.

In an interview with Costa Del Tennis, Stephens was asked, “You’ve mentioned the Williams sisters and Clijsters as being your favorites on the women’s tour! Great choices!! What appeals to you mostly in them—aggressiveness, poise, style, determination?” In response, the former World No. 3 said, “When I was younger I never really watched tennis and Venus and Serena were winning everything. I just loved their look-they looked like me- and I said I want to win like them…”

For context. Remember when Sloane Stephens defeated Williams in the 2013 Australian Open SFs? It brought tears to the American’s eyes, who later said, “I think I will put a poster of myself up now [beside Serena].” It was their second face-off after Stephens’ heartbreaking loss in Brisbane, where she accused Serena of being “disrespectful,” for yelling “Come on” during the match and later dismissed it by saying it was a “friendly fire.” Perhaps the bad blood between the two started off from there, as a few weeks later, Williams’ cryptic tweet read, “I made you.” Consequently, things became more intense!

In the same year, Stephens appeared for an interview with ESPN magazine and took a dig at the former World No. 1 player after accusing Williams of ignoring her during the Federation Cup event. “She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia.” Further adding, the American added that Williams unfollowed her on X as well.

Continuing her statement, Stephens said, “Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that—no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?” Although Williams did not respond to that, thus began their on-court battle!

Between 2013 to 2015, they met six times on-court, with Williams winning on five occasions. Asked to describe their relationship in 2015, Stephens referred to her as a “colleague,” and deftly avoided commenting on the now-23 Grand Slam champion. Ahead of the 2019 US Open, the situation further complicated when Stephens firmly stated that Williams “has nothing to do” with her success and achievements.

During their encounter at the 2020 US Open, the now-42-year-old finally opened up about her take on Stephens after a long time!

Serena Williams praises Sloane Stephens for being a “great player” and that she roots for her

Contrary to Stephens, when Williams was questioned about the status of her relationship with Stephens during a pre-match press conference(2015 French Open fourth round), she offered a diplomatic response. “I just feel like I have always said from day one, I always root for her and [like to] see another African American doing well. I think she’s super cute, so I always root for her.”

When Williams met her in the 2020 US Open, Stephens had already earned her first Grand Slam glory (2017). The anticipation for their match grew as they finally played for the first time since 2015! However, when asked about her competitor, Williams said, “She’s a great competitor. It’s an incredibly interesting match because she’s actually a US Open champion. She’s a great player. You can’t win a Grand Slam and not be really, really, really, really, really good.”

The match ended with Williams’ victory, and it marked an end to their face-offs against each other, as Williams bid adieu to the sport two years later. Meanwhile, Stephens is soon going to take on Clara Burel in the first round of the 2024 US Open.