Sloane Stephens renewed her rivalry with close friend Madison Keys as the pair played out an entertaining match at the Charlotte Invitational.
Stephens isn’t sure how much longer she will play, with the American now entering her 16th WTA Tour season.
The 31-year-old has slipped to 76 in the WTA rankings after a roller-coaster season, which did involve a title going her way in Rouen.
Stephens now has eight WTA titles to her name, with the high point undoubtedly involving her superb 2017 US Open win.
That Grand Slam victory came over her close friend Madison Keys, with the duo having just been reunited at the Charlotte Invitational exhibition event.
Sloane Stephens changes serve ahead of 2025 Australian Open
Frances Tiafoe beat Carlos Alcaraz at the same event, with Keys enacting revenge on Stephens with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Despite the loss, she still enjoyed the match, with Stephens revealing a change to her game in her on-court interview.
“Yeah super fun,” she said. “Obviously being able to play with Maddie is always super fun and playing in front of a crowd like this.
READ MORE: Sloane Stephens points out what she thinks is ‘bad’ about both the ATP and WTA Tours
“We actually both changed our serve, so today was the first time that I played with my new serve, I don’t know if anyone noticed.
“But I was very proud of my serve today. Maddie also changed her serve. We literally did a complete swap, and today was the first time that I tried it so I was a little bit nervous.
“But playing in front of you guys was great, and it’s always nice to be able to try new things and practise, and obviously practise with Maddie. So yeah, it’s always great and this one was awesome.”
What were Sloane Stephens’s 2024 serving stats?
Stephens needed just one hour to secure that memorable US Open win over Keys, with the former beating the latter 6-3, 6-0.
The remarkable victory came after Stephens had 11 months off tour due to injury, with the American having started that summer sitting 957th in the rankings.
From her 40 matches played in 2024, she hit 31 aces and 62 double faults, with a first serve percentage of 72.4%, higher than the likes of Aryna Sabalenka (62.8%) and Iga Swiatek (66.1%).
There is, however, room for improvement regarding her first and second serve winning tallies of 59.3% and 48.1% respectively.
Her service games won total of 65.4% meanwhile falls well short of the likes of Swiatek (82.6%) and Sabalenka (78.5%).
| Year | Matches played | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | 1st Serve Won | 2nd Serve Won | Service Games Won |
| 2024 | 40 | 31 | 62 | 72.4% | 59.3% | 48.1% | 65.4% |
| 2023 | 40 | 45 | 86 | 69.1% | 60.4% | 46.6% | 63.8% |
| 2017 (US Open-winning season) | 23 | 25 | 37 | 67.1% | 62.6% | 48.5% | 68.8% |
Keys didn’t mention her serving change post-match, with the American simply stating her delight at being able to reunite with Stephens.
“Yeah I really enjoyed playing out here,” said Keys. “I quite enjoyed playing in an NBA stadium, first time. So, so far so good, I might quit now while I’m ahead. But it was a lot of fun.”
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