"Wish Sloane Stephens bow out gracefully & not have her legacy tarnished" - Fans react as American loses to World No. 91 for 0-2 start to 2025

Sloane Stephens' struggles continued as she suffered yet another singles defeat, falling to World No. 91 Ann Li at the Hobart International. This marks her second loss of the 2025 season and extends her losing streak to eight matches, leaving fans disappointed.

Stephens has not won a singles match since her first-round victory at Wimbledon in July 2024, with eight consecutive losses since then. The 31-year-old began her 2025 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she was defeated by World No. 91 Ann Li 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Just a week later, the two Americans met again in Hobart, and once more, Li came out on top, winning 7-5, 6-1 to advance.

Fans online have expressed a mix of disappointment, frustration, and disbelief over the World No. 84's recent struggles on tour. Some have been taken aback, questioning how the former Grand Slam champion, once considered one of the most talented players, has fallen so far.

"Watching her play sometimes it’s wild to think sloane Stephens has won a grand slam before," one fan wrote.

"Love Sloane Stephens but after today I must accept that she is on the decline. I just wish she bow out gracefully and not have her legacy tarnished by all the losing," another fan wrote.

Here are some more fan reactions to Stephens' loss to Li in the first round of the Hobart International.

"Another day another “yeah, that sounds about right” Sloane result," one fan wrote.

"Sloane is just waiting for her random 250 showing in Mexico, she’s not worried," another fan wrote.

A few fans called for the American to retire.

"Yea this Sloane last year on tour I hope," one fan wrote.

"Likeeee hang it up atp. Too much talent to be wasted," yet another fan wrote.

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Sloane Stephens claps back at people asking her to retire amid slump in form

Sloane Stephens at the Charlotte Invitational 2024 - Source: Getty

Sloane Stephens was recently interviewed by the US Weekly where she opened up about the comments she has faced. The American stated that many people lack a filter and fail to recognize that athletes are human beings. She pointed out that these individuals would never say hurtful things in person. The 31-year-old also responded to comments about her retirement.

"It’s all about what the athlete can handle, right? ‘You should retire?’ I’m like, ‘If these people are still paying me, I’m not going.’ I think people don’t realize, if someone was paying you a lot of money, you wouldn’t quit your job. You wouldn’t leave your job," Stephens said.

Stephens rose to prominence with her 2017 US Open title, followed by a French Open final appearance in 2018. By then, she had accumulated six titles. However, after 2018, her career saw a decline, with only two additional titles since then.