Stephens now draws Vera Zvonareva.
Sloane Stephens defeated Lucie Hradecka in the first round of the WTA Indian Wells event and the impact on her early tennis career could be immense. We had previously stated that 116th ranked Michelle Larcher de Brito was the youngest player in the field at Indian Wells however we must correct ourselves as Sloane Stephens, though both were born in 1993, is slightly younger.
Stephens, American, is currently ranked 747th in the world and she only has 22 ranking points. But with the victory and since the WTA Indian Wells tournament is apart of the Masters Series 1000 events, Stephens will at least triple her current points total. Earlier in the year Stephens 'won' $68, yes sixty-eight dollars, for crashing out of an ITF tournament known as Plantation in the first round.
Look at what a second round loss, which should be coming as she now draws defending champion Vera Zvonareva, will net Stephens:
$11,500 prize money.
50 tour ranking points.
When the WTA rankings are updated with the Indian Wells results look for Stephens to leap frog about 300 players as she should be ranked about 450th shortly.
One thing that should be noted is that Stephens won her match against Hradecka in two tiebreaks with each win by the slimmest of margins: 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7). This kid definitely has some nerves and she's on our long term radar now.
You can watch Stephens in Indian Wells live for free on bet365. To watch, simply follow these 3 simple steps:
1. Go to bet365 and sign-up or register (it's free)
2. Click on Sports > Live Streaming > Tennis
3. Watch Indian Wells for free