Former US Open champion declares she’ll be back from injury very soon after missing Indian Wells

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Grand Slam champions new and old have been stealing many headlines at Indian Wells so far, largely for the wrong reasons.

Men’s all-time Grand Slam leader Novak Djokovic lost in the second round, with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka losing in the first round.

Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, fell to Botic van de Zandschulp, with Osaka losing to Camila Osorio.

Recent Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner meanwhile is not playing at Indian Wells, having been handed a three-month ban.

His fellow Melbourne winner Madison Keys is, however, safely into the third round after Anastasia Potapova in her first match since the Australian Open.

Sloane Stephens ‘back on court soon’ after missing Indian Wells through injury

But like Osaka, another former Grand Slam champion in Petra Kvitova lost her first round match, while another in Sloane Stephens wasn’t able to play at all due to injury.

And the 2017 US Open champion has now shared an update on her status, sharing an image of herself on X wearing a protective boot.

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Accompanying the image, she wrote: “Got a little boo boo on my foot again. Setbacks are never easy – physically or emotionally – but I trust the universe to guide me in the right direction.

“Still waking up grateful every day. I’ll do my best to get back on court soon! Thank you for all the love and encouragement.”

What is Sloane Stephens’s major finals record amid latest injury setback?

Along with her fantastic doubles career so far, Stephens has enjoyed a superb singles career despite her injury issues.

The American boasts eight WTA Tour-level titles, and reached a career-high of third in the world rankings back in 2018.

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She has since fallen to 119th, but the 31-year-old is more than capable of bouncing back once her latest injury problem has finished.

Among her eight career singles titles is the 2017 US Open, where Stephens beat fellow American Keys 6-3, 6-0.

She reached both the finals of the French Open and WTA Finals the following year, but lost to Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina respectively.