When Sloane Stephens is "on the rise", no one in the women's tour is safe, says former Roger Federer coach 

Former coach of Roger Federer, Paul Annacone, believes that Sloane Stephens is a force to be reckoned with on the WTA tour and could pose a major threat to her fellow players once she is "on the rise".

Despite dropping to a low ranking of World No. 51 in February, Stephens has climbed back up to No. 36 after her recent victory at the L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo, a WTA 125K tournament.

Stephens, a former US Open champion and French Open finalist, has made a name for herself on the WTA tour. However, the American has had struggles with form and consistency throughout her career.

Annacone believes that if Stephens is able to overcome the consistency issue and continue the impressive run in upcoming tournaments, then no player on tour will be safe facing her.

"I think now, when Sloane's on the rise like this and has the confidence, that's when everyone else needs to take notice and I don't think anyone's safe on women's tour if she is feeling good, getting some confidence. She is a great athlete," he said in a conversation with the Tennis Channel.

Annacone further showered praise on Stephens for showing propensity to improve her game.

"She doesn't want to be inconsistent. She's always gonna try to be better at that. But, she has that propensity. So, she's gonna deal with it," he added.

He opined that Stephens is an "interesting" personality, a player who knows how to deal with the ups and downs of the game.

"Everybody's personality is different. I think now she [Stephens] is an interesting person," Annacone stated. "Remember back before or was it after Australia a couple of years ago where she told everyone in the press room to calm down. So, I think she knows she doesn't wanna be inconsistent. She knows there are gonna be some ups and downs."

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Sloane Stephens to face Victoria Azarenka in the Italian Open 2R

Sloane Stephens at the 2023 Internazionali BNL D'Italia

Sloane Stephens will face Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Italian Open on Thursday (May 11), following her comprehensive 6-4, 6-1 victory over Nadia Podoroska in the first round. This will be their ninth meeting on tour, with the head-to-head record currently tied at 4-4.

Azarenka, the 14th seed at the Italian Open, received a first-round bye and is coming off an opening-round defeat to Alycia Parks at the Madrid Open. Given Stephens' impressive form on clay this season, the match on Thursday promises to be a fairly evenly balanced encounter.