Stephens and Barty hit reset button, and it made all the difference

NEW YORK—Taking a break from the tour doesn’t need to be surrounded by doubt and negativity anymore. In the cases of Ashleigh Barty and Sloane Stephens (and of course, Roger Federer), a long break from the game has actually given their careers a boost.

Unlike most office warriors, tennis pros don’t have the luxury of extended holidays. Instead, it’s often injuries that force them to slow down.

Stephens was sidelined after the Olympics with a foot injury that required surgery. She made her return at Wimbledon and has put together an 11-2 record since Washington. Her ranking will rise to an expected No. 61 thanks to reaching the fourth round of the US Open with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Barty.

“I think we all know what Sloane is capable of. She was a Top 15 player and had very good success,” Barty said. “She's obviously riding a very big wave of confidence at the moment.”

The 24-year-old American looks to be back to her old self, but with a greater sense of calm and an even greater level of enjoyment.

“I just try to keep it all together,” Stephens said. “Like I said before many times, I’m just happy to be back on court and excited to be running around. Any chance I have to be out there, I’m just so grateful.”

The former world No. 11 seems to have already shaken the rust off after 10 months away, and she’s tapping into the fountain of youth by getting a chance to play with nothing to lose.

“Obviously, going into the Open I’m not seeded,” she said before the fortnight started. “So it’s kind of just, like, ‘Just go out and have fun.’ If I beat somebody, great. If not, I still have a lot of tournaments to use.”

Stephens has long been pegged a Top 10 player with vast potential, someone who could follow in the footsteps of the Williams sisters, but she has never delivered consistent results.

“I obviously wasn't happy to get injured. That's not anything that I ever wanted,” Stephens said this week. “But it was a good lesson for me. It was a good time to be able to take a break, get my health in order [and] then reevaluate my whole entire situation—come back a better player and better person.”

Sometimes a break can be good for the body as well as the mind. (Just ask Federer and his two Grand Slams this season.) The constant grind of the 11-month season is draining, and Stephens has admitted that she enjoyed her time off (and especially her stint on Tennis Channel).

Still, she missed the sport that has given her everything.

“I really missed tennis and I just wished I could have been playing. It's weird not being able to play tennis. Tennis is my whole life,” she said in Washington. “It was tough for me, but I think six months went by fairly quickly. I'm happy to be back, and just hopefully I’m going to work my way back to where I was before.”

Injuries are obviously terrible, especially serious ones that require surgery, but for Stephens, there is something positive to take from her ordeal: There are finally lessened expectations on her shoulders.

“I just was happy to be on the court the last couple of weeks, just enjoying playing,” she said. “Happy to be injury-free and pain-free, all that good stuff. I didn't really have any expectations coming back. I just wanted to play again.

“I've exceeded everything that I thought I would.”

Her opponent in the third round on Friday certainly can understand the benefits of a break, though hers were for a very different reason.

Barty stepped away from the game at just 18 years old in September 2014. The junior Wimbledon champion had spent most of that season inside the Top 200, and reached three doubles Grand Slam finals in 2013 (with Casey Dellacqua).

Her struggles were entirely mental, admitting that she lost the passion for the sport. The Aussie switched to cricket, earning a contract with the Brisbane Heat, and she coached tennis.

“I've said many times [that] for me, it was just to mentally refresh and just sort of see if I really wanted it,” Barty said. “I feel great. I've been playing now for over 18 months, so it feels like I've been back for a while.”

In January 2016 Barty rejoined the tour, and has been riding an upward wave ever since. She won her first WTA singles title in Kuala Lumpur and three more doubles crowns (all with Dellacqua). The 21-year-old is expected to rise to a career-high ranking of No 36, and is the sixth seed in doubles (with Dellacqua).

“I feel like it's a lot more tidy than it was,” Barty said about her game since coming back. “I’m more confident. I definitely feel like it's just a more developed game. It's a different physicality [at 21]. I'm able to do a few more things now.”

It’s incredible what a break from the daily grind can do for a person. Each player is different, but in some cases, time off—on purpose or not—can reset the mind and body, reignite the passion for the sport and even lengthen the career. Just ask Barty, Stephens or even Federer.

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