Who Is Black Tennis Star Sloane Stephens? [PHOTOS]

Venus and Serena Williams have been, without doubt, the most dominant players in women’s tennis for much of the past decade and more. The emergence of Sloane Stephens, and in part Chicago’s Taylor Townsend, signals that the baton may be passing soon enough.

Stephens, 21, and Townsend, 18, has some time to go before they reach the heights of the Williams sisters, of which the younger of the pair, Serena, is currently the WTA’s number one ranked singles player.

Stephens, ranked 19th in the WTA rankings, is largely a mystery to those outside of the tennis world and comparisons to the Williams sisters doesn’t do her rising career any justice. The Plantation, Fla. native has only one title win to her name, but she is making an impressive show in this year’s French Open as the tournament’s top American.

Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at what we know about Sloane Stephens.

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Photos: AP, Wikipedia Commons

She Hails From A Family Of Athletes

According to Wikipedia, Stephens’ mother, Sybil Smith, was the first Black female swimmer to be named to a Division I team overall. Her father, John Stephens, starred for the New England Patriots as a running back between 1988 and 1992.

She Has Defeated Nine Top-10 Ranked Singles Players

Although she has yet to win a Grand Slam title, she has notched wins against some of the greatest women’s players on the pro circuit. She defeated Serena Williams at last year’s Australian Open in a match that shocked the world. She also has beaten Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.

Stephens Plays In All-Court Style

Although she stands at just 5-foot-7, Stephens covers a lot of ground with her speed and natural athleticism. Her two-handed backhand is among one of her favorite weapons and she also owns a strong forehand.

Stephens Had Beef With Serena Williams

Despite talk that Williams was close to the rising star, last year Stephens slammed her one-time idol during an ESPN The Magazine interview by saying she was given the brush off. Ever since Stephens defeated Williams at the Australian Open, their relationship has been described as cold at best. Stephens did apologize days later for the interview and even shouted Williams out on Twitter.

Kim Clijsters Is Her Favorite Player

In that same ESPN interview, Stephens revealed that retired Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters was her favorite player.

Stephens Is From Florida

Stephens was born in the town of Plantation in the Sunshine State, which is also the same place NFL players Chad Henne, Zach Thomas and Darrelle Revis is from. She currently resides and trains  in Coral Springs, which is home to a number of athletes.

Stephens Went Pro In 2007

After doing well on the junior circuit as a teenager, Stephens played her first pro match in 2007. In her seven years as a professional, she has taken home over $2 million in prize money.