Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens faced off in the fourth round of the 2015 WTA BNP Paribas Open, also know as Indians Wells, in a matchup between the No. 1 player in the world (Williams) and one of several up-and-coming young Black female players on the tour.
It wasn’t long ago that Williams and Stephens were good friends on the tour, a relationship that many looked at as a mentorship relationship for the two, but now, the two are essentially co-workers who barely interact. Things have changed drastically from their relationship in the summer of 2012. Williams discussed the switching of the mentor hat between the pair. “I think she’s more my mentor than anything,” Williams said in an interview during the 2012 US Open. Of course, Serena is also a teacher as well. “I hope I can teach her some things, and hopefully she’s able to do it. I think that we can kind of feed off each other. She can teach me some things, maybe how to be calm on the court.”
Williams also said that she thought Stephens had the potential to become a tennis superstar, and not only because of her on court play. “I think she has a great smile, a beautiful face. I think she has such a wonderful personality and attitude.”
During the same tournament, Stephens also had incredible things to say about Williams. “We’re really good friends. We just have a really good relationship. I felt like I knew her in a past life or something, I don’t know. It’s so strange.”
Unfortunately for the two, things changed six months later, when Stephens achieved the biggest win of her career, defeating Williams in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals. Williams then unfollowed Stephens on Twitter, Stephens made unkind remarks about Williams, and the relationship has been strained since.
When asked if the relationship has been repaired earlier this week, Stephens said, “No. She’s a competitor. She’s the No. 1 player in the world. She’s … what do you call it? She’s a … you know, when you work with someone? A colleague. There you go, she’s a colleague.”
For her part, Williams doesn’t give any glowing thoughts on Stephens either. “I have had some tough matches with Sloane. She’s had an interesting year, but I have noticed that she’s been really playing well. She moves well and she tries to do her best for everything,” said Williams.
In the St. Patrick’s Day match, Stephens stormed out to take the first set, but Williams roared back to take the last two sets, and the match, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2.
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