Sloane Stephens might not be in the best form at the moment, but her spirits always remain high. That’s exactly the case as America is preparing to make a strong return at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. It’s been seven years since the country won the title. While Stephens is not a part of this year’s team participating in Malaga, she’s still leaving no stone unturned in motivating her compatriots to perform at the highest level.

On Instagram, Sloane shared a story while remembering a moment from 2017 when she helped America lift the Billie Jean King Cup trophy. Seven years ago, she was part of the team that won the event for a record 18th time – the most by any country in the history of BJK. Interestingly, the 2017 victory came after a long wait of 20 years. Hence, it was a special moment for Sloane and her teammates. USA beat Belarus in a thrilling face-off where both the countries took the battle to the deciding round after winning two sets each. In the final, Sloane couldn’t win both her singles matches despite putting great efforts. But Coco Vandeweghe clinched her solo encounters to keep the hopes alive. In the championship match, America’s doubles team, led by Coco Vandeweghe and Shelby Rogers, eventually managed to defeat Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Aryna Sabalenka; America won with an overall lead of 3-2.

However, it’s been a long time, once again, since USA emerged victorious at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Sloane Stephens, who knows what it takes to be a champion, will surely hope for the country to repeat the success from 2017. Perhaps that’s the reason she decided to share the throwback moment from her own team’s glory in order to boost the confidence of players representing America in 2024.

Speaking of her own professional journey, Stephens is still in search of a massive comeback. Her last appearance in a professional match came during the Korea Open in September. Unfortunately, she couldn’t advance past the Round of 32 in that event. Fellow American Hailey Baptiste defeated her 7 (7)-6, 6-2 in straight sets. Amid her poor form, she’s also been at the receiving end of criticism. But she knows how to keep her head strong.

When Sloane Stephens revealed her honest feelings over criticism

During an episode of the Tennis Insider podcast, dated October 21st, Sloane expressed her thoughts over harsh reactions on her form and career choices. She talked about how people come up with multiple assumptions regarding her performance. “Everyone always judges me when they see me playing, like, ‘Oh, you’re not trying hard enough,'” she said. She asked everyone to just “give me a break. It’s so difficult when you’ve been out there for so long and there’s so much outside pressure.”

Moreover, she also mentioned that she’s always lived life on her own terms. And that the noise coming from her critics don’t bother her. “I feel like I’ve lived my life the way I wanted to live it,” she said. This kind of approach has helped her in going through various obstacles in her career so far. She never lets negative comments affect her in any way possible. Her attitude towards all kinds of criticism has been simple: “I was like, f**k it, I’m here.” But this isn’t the first time she opened up on the harsh reactions from people.

Back in 2021, Sloane Stephens failed to advance past the third round in the US Open. Post-match, she revealed that she had received 2,000 hate messages on social media. “This type of hate is so exhausting and never ending,” she wrote. “This isn’t talked about enough, but it really freaking sucks…” she said while reacting on various comments and reactions sports personalities receive on a frequent basis these days. But in the end, she also knows how to always look forward and block all the negativity. “Been fighting battles all year and haven’t backed down yet. Never stop fighting! You win or you learn, but you never lose ❤️,” wrote Stephens in a post on her Instagram.