Sloane Stephens talks to Kidsday reporters
Tennis player Sloane Stephens with Kidsday reporters, from left: Reese Pearsall, Gregory Berman, Kate Oliver and Allie Grattan, all from the Cutchogue East Elementary school, at the New York Open at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. Credit: Newsday / Pat Mullooly
On Sunday, Feb. 11, we had an amazing experience meeting Sloane Stephens, who we think is the world’s best female tennis player, at the Media Day at the NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. Before meeting Sloane, we sat in on the news conference and even asked questions to some of the other tennis greats including Kevin Anderson, Ryan Harrison, Kei Nishikori, Sebastian Korda, James Blake and Genie Bouchard. We got the chance to ask all of them questions and take photos with them as well. Meeting all of them was an honor. It was amazing how super tall most of them were.
After the news conference was over, Sloane talked to us for a few minutes. As you probably know, she was the winner of the U.S. Open finals against Madison Keys at Flushing Meadows in September. This was less than a year after her terrible fracture in her ankle. Sloane was super sweet and funny she actually called us cute, little students. She was shocked to hear that we knew a lot about her already. Today we learned that Sloane loves mac and cheese and is a cheese lover.
Her favorite color is pink. Her favorite drink before matches is just water so that she can be hydrated and after she like to have protein shakes.
On her time off she likes to relax, hang out with friends and family or go to the mall. Sloane told us that her most challenging opponent has been Venus Williams. We wanted to know since Sloane was so dedicated to tennis at such a young age, if she missed anything growing up. She told us that she missed all of her school dances and proms due to tennis matches but, in the end, she thought it was all worth it because she got to travel the world.
After the interview, we got media seats in the arena and were able to watch real professionals play tennis, which was awesome to see. Sloane was kind enough to autograph a tennis ball for each of us after the interview.
This was a great experience for all of us, we had a lot of fun and were able to learn more about Sloane Stephens and some fun facts about the other players we met.
The New York Open on Long Island is here through Sunday, Feb. 18. For information visit them online: newyorkopen.com.
