Brandon Burke Interviews 2017 US Open Champion Sloane Stephens

April 4, 2020

As tough as it is to not be able to compete week in and out, I try to focus on the positives and the things that I can control. For me, that's been getting to spend more time with my family, and making sure that I am ready to go when things calm down and tournaments start back up.

Sloane Stephens is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-best ranking of No. 3 in the world after Wimbledon in 2018. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won six WTA singles titles in total.

Brandon Burke, a lawyer and the son of ACE Tennis President Doug Burke, recently started consulting with 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens’ nonprofit foundation based out of Compton, California. Here he sits down with Sloane to ask her a few questions about her foundation, spending time in Toronto, and how she has been spending her time over the past few weeks:

Brandon: When and why did you start the Sloane Stephens Foundation (SSF)?

Sloane: Many people think that I started the Sloane Stephens Foundation (SSF) after I won the US Open in 2017, but I actually started SSF in 2013. From very early in my pro career I knew that I wanted to leave behind a legacy in tennis. I wanted to find a way to use the sport that I love and that has given me so much to help in giving others opportunities, to show them that tennis can be a vehicle to so many other things. I have been able to do that with the SSF over the past five years, and hope to continue to help kids and families by exposing them to tennis for years to come.

Brandon: What is your vision for the SSF in the coming years?

Sloane: The SSF is currently partnered with the Compton Unified School District (CUSD) to provide tennis programming to kids at schools in the district. So far, we have trained 79 CUSD teachers to teach tennis at 21 elementary schools, exposing more than 4000 kids to our tennis programs. We’re hoping to expose as many as 25,000 kids in Compton to our school tennis programming in the years to come as we continue to grow. Also, if the opportunity presented itself, I would love to expand the SSF and the tennis programs that we offer to another school district.

Brandon: How have you been keeping busy during this time?

Sloane: I’ve been using this time to train hard at home. My fiancée and I actually built a makeshift home gym to keep ourselves busy and have somewhere to work out while self-isolating. As tough as it is to not be able to compete week in and out, I try to focus on the positives and the things that I can control. For me, that’s been getting to spend more time with my family, and making sure that I am ready to go when things calm down and tournaments start back up. Until then, I want to remind everyone how important it is to continue to practice social distancing!

Brandon: Many would say that you’re an “honorary Canadian.” I know that you spend a lot of time in Toronto with your fiancée, Jozy Altidore, who plays for Toronto F.C. Do you like the city?

Sloane: I love Toronto, and have enjoyed getting to spend time here over the past few years! When I got a stress fracture in my foot and was out for almost 11 months in 2016-2017, I got to spend a lot of time in Toronto and really started to love the city and find a groove here that worked for me. In particular, I love how multicultural the city is, and I love the food (Toronto has some of the best Jamaican food in the world in my opinion), but I hate the winters.

Next Gen Tennis League promises exciting matches

October 22, 2020

The Next Gen Tennis League again saw some great tennis last weekend at The Credit Valley Tennis Club and Burlington Tennis Club. This promises that Saturday the 24th will feature some exciting matches and very competitive tennis. All three matches will be played on Saturday October 24th, with Team Byte Network Security facing Team Hydrogen at noon (Burlington Tennis Club).

ITF Men’s 85 World Team Championships Renamed the Lorne Main Cup

October 13, 2020

Toronto, October 13, 2020 – The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Tuesday that, as of 2021, the Men’s 85 World Team Championships will be renamed the Lorne Main Cup after the late Canadian. Lorne Main was selected for the honour following a unanimous vote by the ITF Seniors Committee, and approval from the ITF Board of Directors, after his name was put forward by Tennis Canada as part of the nomination process.

A New Reality By Nicolas Pereira

August 9, 2020

This past week in the World Team Tennis ‘Bubble” I have seen the efforts to keep everyone safe while carrying on a team competition with around 60/70 players and coaches onsite. Counting organizers, officials, media, and support personnel are around 150 people trying hard to make this happen. I am very impressed by how the strict protocol has been handled and how everyone is invested in making this event a success, but The Open is a completely different scale of details.

Mental Fitness Workshop with Patricia Hy

November 16, 2012

Yves Boulais: No Excuses… Get Working

March 21, 2020

Yves was proud to work with players including Greg Rudsedski, Patricia Hy, Oliver Marach, Eugenie Bouchard and Rebecca Marino, who achieved excellent results on the world stage. He was an Olympic Coach in Barcelona 1992 & Atlanta 1996, and Captain of the Canadian FedCup Team 1998 – 2000.

Update on UK Tennis Situation with Master Louis Cayer

March 25, 2020

I would like to share a mindset I instil in all the players I coach, one I believe has greatly influenced all of the player’s performances; “whatever happens, I can handle it.” This mindset is achieved through a systematic, tactical development process, so that whoever the opponent, whatever the surface, regardless of the environment, or scoring, the players can, and will rise to the challenge as it is presented.

Tennis Guru, Louis Borfiga Shares What Makes “A Good Coach?”

April 30, 2020

Many are asking this question, each with their own opinion, their own truth. In reality, it is difficult to answer with certainty, as the evaluation method can vary from one person to another. However, when you think about it, when you look at the references in the field of coaching in various sports, there are certain common and fundamental elements that I will describe to you here…