dōTERRA ® PERFORMANCE ADVOCATE
SLOANE STEPHENS
dōTERRA ® Performance Advocate Sloane Stephens is a professional tennis player on the Women ’ s Tennis Association ( WTA ) tour , known for winning the 2017 US Open . From homeschooling her way through high school to overcoming a serious injury , Stephens has allowed her positive attitude and passion for tennis to carry her through anything that life or the sport throws at her .
“ To win the US Open after being injured and having to go through surgery and rehab and all of the not fun stuff that goes into coming back from an injury , it was a major triumph — something that I ’ ve wanted to do my whole life .”
How did you first get involved with playing tennis ?
I grew up across the street from a club that had tennis , and I started playing there in the summers at a young age . I had no idea whether or not I was going to be any good at it , but it was really fun — my very first coach made it really fun . As I got older , I started playing after school , and eventually my mom thought that we should move to Florida so I could play more tennis .
After we moved to Florida , I started playing even more , I got into tournaments , and I started winning . I decided to do homeschool so that I could go pro at age 16 . It was a nice transition , never anything too stressful . I started playing lower-rank tournaments and just worked my way up to the WTAs . I kind of paid my dues with the younger folks and moved my way up , and that ’ s how I got started in professional tennis .
What do you love most about the game of tennis ? I love to compete . I ’ m a very competitive person . I ’ m the girl that races my mom and brother back to the car saying , “ Last one there is a rotten egg !” I ’ ve never played a team sport so I don ’ t know what that is like , but with tennis , you are out there all by yourself — you have to act for yourself , think for yourself , and you have to do everything alone . I actually like that , I like competing against an opponent where you don ’ t know what is going to happen . It is so unpredictable , I think that is what I love the most about tennis .
What would you say your strength is on the court ? I would say my greatest strength and my greatest weakness is probably my mind . When I make plays and
22 / SUMMER 2018 LIVING MAGAZINE