Sloane Stephens, is she just going through the motions? It begs the question, “What is going on in her heart and mind? As a black woman who admires any black athlete who is willing to step on the tennis court and give it their best effort, I wonder at the effort I see coming from Stephens. I also admire any white or Asian athlete who does the same. In other words, I like to see an athlete living up to their potential, or at least giving it a good try.

Tennis Is No Different From Life

The same people who play tennis are the same people who are involved in life. Thus, expect them to bring their life into their profession, whether it is on the tennis courts or in the boardroom. The unfortunate thing for tennis players is that their success as a player is based on the number of titles won. No one really cares at the end of the day about your ranking. Fortunately, your ranking benefits from how far you go in the draw and the number of titles accumulated along the way.

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Sloane Stephens Is Not An Enigma

It is clear for anyone who watches tennis that she has some internal conflict going on. When you know how much talent she has within and you see her performance, you must ask the question, “Why is she even bothering to take the spot in the draw that some other player would love to have?” We all are guilty of doing what Sloane Stephens is doing. She is taking her tennis talent for granted, intentionally or unintentionally. Just like so many of us, who take our health for granted, this is often followed by regret when it is gone.

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Stephens’ Window Of Opportunity Is Closing

At thirty years old, the window of peak performance is closing for Stephens. Once ranked as high as number three, the American finds herself now consistently outside the top twenty. She managed to win a title last year, after four years without winning a title. Stephens was on the verge of tremendous success and then the wheels came off and she has yet to recover.

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