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Tennis Star Sloane Stephens Is Winning Praise Ahead of Match-up Against Venus Williams

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

The world of tennis has a new darling and Twitter users can’t get enough!

Sloane Stephens, who teamed with Venus Williams and Madison Keys to become the first trio of Black women to make it to the semifinals in U.S. Open history, has taken social media by storm.

And she’s poised to make an even bigger impact Thursday night, Sept. 7, when she takes on two-time U.S. Open champion Venus on the big stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Should she pull off the upset, Stephens will secure a spot in her first Grand Slam final.

If she wins, it will be the second time Stephens has beaten a Williams sister. The 24-year-old knocked off Serena 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2013.

A win over Venus also would cap a remarkable comeback from a serious foot injury that kept Stephens out of action for 11 months and caused her ranking to drop to No. 957 in the world. It was a long, grueling recovery, but after a slow start to the hardcourt season, Stephens went on a tear. She reached the semifinals in Toronto and Cincinnati prior to arriving at Flushing Meadows, N.Y., and has won 13 of her past 15 matches against top-50 opponents.

Related: The Williams’ Sisters’ Wins

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“Now, having some good results, it’s only as stressful as it needs to be,” Stephens, currently ranked No. 83, told The New York Times.

Stephens’ run, coupled with all the #BlackGirlMagic history-making, has Twitter positively giddy.

https://twitter.com/tumcarayol/status/903079220355719168

https://twitter.com/tumcarayol/status/905179664561434624

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