The Hobart International may only be a WTA 250 level event – compared to the 500 in Adelaide running at the same time – but Sloane Stephens rates the field among the toughest she’ll encounter in 2024.
Back for her fifth tilt at hoisting the trophy, Stephens declared there is no place she would rather be leading into the first Grand Slam of the year.
A former US Open winner and world No. 3, Stephens is among the big drawcards at this year’s event. She reached the semifinals in 2013 and would love nothing more than to head to the Australian Open off the back of an eighth WTA title.
“This is my fifth year playing in Hobart. I just love being here and enjoy playing here, obviously a great warm up for the AO,” the American said.
“Being able to come here, the draw’s tough obviously, and everyone’s kind of doing the same thing, trying to get more matches and get that confidence before a slam.
“To play somewhere where it’s a great environment, it’s a great tournament, you get treated really well, it’s always really nice for the players.
“It’s just personal preference. I have played also in Adelaide, and I just prefer it here. Here’s a little bit smaller, more intimate. I’ve known Darren [Sturgess, tournament director] for a long time and you get treated really well here, I love the hotel, I have my favourite little restaurants, I’ve just become really familiar with Hobart and being here. Hobart has left a really good mark on my tennis journey.
“For the level 250… it’s probably one of the toughest tournaments of the year just because it is the week before a slam and everyone wants to play.”
Stephens heads into her opening round clash against qualifier Yue Yuan having won her opening match of the season in Brisbane, before going down in three sets to Elise Mertens – the No. 1 seed in Hobart.
It is the start of a big campaign for the 30-year-old, who is eyeing off the Paris Olympics in what will be a jam packed scheduled.
“I took a pretty long break at the end of last year… I was moving into my new house that took two and a half years to build. So I [wanted] to stay home for a bit and just spend time with family and friends and kind of just settle.
“During the year we travel so much and I did a cross country move, obviously very difficult. But I think I just focused mostly on my health and my physical training [in the off season] to get back to make sure I have a really good year this year.
“It’s obviously an Olympic year so the schedule changes a little bit. You’re trying to play twice as much so you can make sure you can secure the spot for Olympics.
“So I think for myself I just wanted to take a break because I knew that this year was going to be tough and a very long year.”