Recognizing athletes  “whose continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a measured positive impact on their community.” That’s what the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award does. And courtesy of her nomination, Sloane Stephens has done that – enabling a positive change through her leadership. That said, if you rewind to 2013, Stephens claimed that this is precisely what Serena Williams didn’t do for her.

Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams have an interesting history on and off the court. Although reports say they’ve resolved their differences, it’s impossible to forget their 2013 clash. Coming into their second career meeting, which was at the Australian Open, Williams was on a 20-match winning streak. Pulling off one of the biggest upsets, then-19-year-old Stephens came back from a set down to defeat a player she had a poster of in her bedroom. So, after the match, Stephens said, “I think I’ll put a poster of myself [up] now.”

A few days later, Serena tweeted, “I made you.” While it was unclear who she meant that for, Sloane Stephens almost certainly knew it was about her. In a subsequent interview, she said, “They think [Williams is] so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality!” Her motivation for saying this? Besides the “I made you” tweet, Serena reportedly unfollowed her on Twitter and deleted her from BlackBerry Messenger.

“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. And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter,” the former World No. 3 said at the time. 2013 was the year their ‘relationship’ (which Stephens claimed they never had to begin with) went up in flames. But it was also the year that kickstarted what led to Stephens’ nomination for ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Awards. And her potential reunion with Serena Williams.

While Stephens and Williams’ last on-court meeting was in 2020, the next off-court meeting is going to be in Hollywood at the Dolby Theatre on July 10. The 12-time winner of the ESPYs Award is going to host the 2024 edition! As for Sloane Stephens, she has always wanted to give something back to the sport that has given her so much. So, in 2013, she launched her own foundation to offer access to tennis and promote diversity and inclusion in the sport. 11 years of hard work later, Stephens received the ESPY Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award nomination!

Shortly after hearing this announcement, Stephens took to her Instagram story to write, “I’m honored to be named a finalist for the 2024 Muhammad Ali #SportsHumanitarian Award! Congrats to all the nominees: Maui Surfing Community @3jmccollum & Anthony Rizzo.” Serena Williams is just as excited to be part of the ESPN event, looking forward to being behind the microphone. “I couldn’t be more excited to host the ESPYs. This is a dream come true for me, and something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember.” She’ll be the fourth woman to host the show in two decades and might come across her old rival, who’s working toward a good cause.

The Sloane Stephens’ Foundation provides free tennis programs, educational support, and mental health resources within the Compton Unified School District and communities in South Florida, Haiti, and South Africa. Per ESPN’s nomination, “To date, Stephens’ year-round tennis programs provide structured opportunities for over 10,000 minority youth annually to play tennis. She also offers Doc & Glo Scholarships for students attending HBCUs or planning to enter the medical field.”

What motivated the 2017 US Open champion to work harder for the betterment of her community?

“Tennis has given me so much…”: Sloane Stephens on giving back to the community

Sloane Stephens believes “accessibility is key!” She has often highlighted the importance of giving youngsters someone to look up to while growing up. While she was busy creating a legacy on the court, Stephens knew how difficult it was to get access to tennis essentials sometimes. Wanting to solve this problem for the younger generations, she said, “Tennis is a very hard sport to get into. You need a racquet, you need courts, you need coaches. It discourages a lot of parents and kids.”

To make the path to making tennis a career for the next generation, she added, “Tennis has given me so much. And being able to offer that to someone’s child through sport and education is really important.” At the same time, she’s confident kids can easily love the sport as she does, “If you give a kid an opportunity, you give them a racquet, you give them a ball, you show them, they will fall in love with tennis.”

Apart from being a tennis star, Sloane Stephens is also a sporting icon in her community who has always emphasized growing hand-in-hand! Are you looking forward to seeing the tennis stars back together on stage?