U.S. Open Champion Sloane Stephens Makes WTA History By Prioritizing Self-Care

U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens has proven to be a top-three tennis player in the world. The secret sauce is in her daily practice.

While she stuns the world with her high performance, the 29-year-old tennis star is prioritizing her self-care off the court, optimizing her health, and encouraging Black women to live a fulfilling life.

In 2021, Stephens became the first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player to ink a deal with the wellness brand, WHOOP. She’s also one of the founding members of WHOOP’s Women’s Sports Collective, which aims to drive new research, test upcoming product features, and address the research and education gap within women’s performance, according to the brand’s press release.

“This partnership with WHOOP makes perfect sense for me because it’s a brand that has become absolutely integral to my training routine,” Stephens told Boardroom. “As an athlete, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from incredible trainers and doctors over the years, but never have I had access to this amount of physiological insight on my phone.”

Stephens, a Plantation, Florida, native, is passionate about mental health having learned from her mother, a psychologist, about what it means to focus on her breathing on the court and visualize her winning moves.

Take a look at some of wellness tips and personal tools via Stephens’ bulletin, Sloane Stephens Off-Court.

Self-Care

“You’re no good to anyone if you can’t breathe! You can’t do good work if you’re running on fumes. Remember you can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Therapy

“If you’re worried you can’t afford to see a therapist, you can find free or low-cost therapy through social services, universities, non-profits, and employee assistance programs. If you’re worried you don’t have time to visit a therapist, check out online and mobile therapy options like Talkspace or BetterHelp.”

Travel

“Part of my on-the-go self-care practice has been making time for new experiences. If I’m going to be in an area long enough, I try to fit in trying two or three restaurants I’ve never dined at before or I go to a nice restaurant and try things on the menu I’ve never had before. I even make time to check out the local shopping malls.”

“Perhaps one of your self-care practices can be to try a new activity on a regular basis or maybe you can try being a tourist in your own town.”