Podcast 173: US Open Champion Sloane Stephens on Tennis & Self-Acceptance

2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth conversation on her career, high performance, and mental health.

https://youtu.be/Pbg8xUx27kE   Sloane Stephens is one of the most recognizable American tennis players of the last decade. She became the youngest woman in the top 100 by the time she turned 18 and has reached as high as the No. 3 overall ranking in the world. Despite that, Sloane explains how she has avoided placing unnecessary pressure on herself and talks about how obsessing over winning proved to be a detriment to her. Sloane is passionate about mental health and details the mindset that allowed her to find success in tennis. She explains what she’s learned from her mother, a psychologist, and how that’s helped her in life, both on and off the court.  

Sloane Stephens Podcast Episode Chapters:

1:28 - Journey to tennis 5:02 - Going pro 7:54 - Her goal in tennis 8:22 - Obsessing over winning 9:27 - Winning the U.S. Open 11:28 - Mental health and wellbeing 17:04 - Before the U.S. Open finals 19:34 - Mindfulness and meditation 23:19 - Using WHOOP 26:41 - Strain 30:42 - Weight 33:19 - Defining “Peak Sloane” 34:27 - Treating yourself well 37:40 - Finding gratitude for your accomplishments 41:42 - Life after tennis 42:25 - The Sloane Stephens Foundation