WASHINGTON—"I don't know exactly how long it's going to take me, but eventually I will beat someone," Sloane Stephens said exactly one year ago at this very tournament.
The 25-year-old was ranked No. 957 and playing in just her second tournament since foot surgery. She had lost a first-rounder to Simona Halep in straight sets. Now, back in D.C., she returns as the third-ranked player, a US Open champion, a Miami Open winner and a French Open finalist.
"Being ranked were I am now and where I was a year ago here is quite different," Stephens said on Monday. "I think that a lot has happened in the last year. I've adjusted well and things have gone well and not too well and I've been able to bounce back pretty decently."
Stephens is talking about the eight-match losing streak she endured after winning the US Open as a wild card over fellow American Madison Keys. She's probably also thinking about her first-round loss at Wimbledon, just a few weeks ago, to Donna Vekic. While Stephens may never display the week-in, week-out consistency that defines so many Grand Slam champions, she's proven she can beat such champions on any given day—and she can do it while maintaining the same positive, friendly disposition she's had from Day 1.
"Now it's just that I'm focusing on playing my best and competing every time I get out on the court and enjoying myself. It's just a little bit different of an outlook," she said. "I'm the same person, same player, I just have a little bit of a different view on it."
A year ago, Stephens' future was unclear. Many, including herself, wondered if she could ever regain the form that saw her reach No. 11 in the world and win her first WTA title, in Washington, back in 2015.
"It was just different types of stress and anxiety. I didn't know if my foot was going to hold up. I didn't know if I would ever be the same player. If I'd have the same results. If I'd be average," she said. "There was a lot of unknowns."
But the unknowns quickly turned into wins, just weeks after her now-famous quote about eventually beating someone. She beat practically everyone after Washington, going 15-2 in Toronto, Cincinnati and New York; this year, in Miami, she together an impressive run through Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko.
Now, a new page in Stephens' career is turning as she begins the North American hard-court stretch that ultimately leads to her defending a Grand Slam title for the first time.
"Excited to be back on the hard courts," she said. "Defending any tournament is always hard but especially a Grand Slam, it's even tougher. So I've never had to do that before. Obviously, I know there'll be a lot of nerves and excitement that go into going into the US Open but I'm looking forward to it."
But first, a second Citi Open crown could be up for grabs as she begins her campaign against fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Tuesday. It's Stephens' eighth year in a row playing the Citi Open—not even missing it during her 11 months off the tour with her foot injury.
"I won my first tournament here so that'll always be really cool for me," Stephens said. "I've played here a lot of years in a now—it's probably the longest tournament I've played consistently. I'm just happy to play here."
