Who is Peyton Stearns – the young American star on the rise

Shahida Jacobs
A happy Peyton Stearns
Peyton Stearns delighted during her match

Peyton Stearns is one of the most in-form players on the WTA Tour and there is no doubt that her star will continue to shine on the WTA Tour in the coming years.

The Ohio-born Stearns, who went to the University of Texas and became the first Texas player to lift the NCAA Division I Women’s Singles National Championship trophy, turned pro in 2022 and by 2023 she started to make tennis fans sit up and take note of her talent.

Now two years after her WTA debut, she has taken her game to another level.

Steady Start

After winning one ITF title while in her teens, Stearns started the 2022 season just inside the top 400 and made her singles debut at the highest level as a 20-year-old when she received wildcards for the WTA 250 event in Cleveland and the US Open.

She suffered first-round exits at both tournaments and had to wait until 2023 for her maiden win. But those setbacks were part of the learning curve as she continued to ply her trade at ITF level, winning several titles as she finished the year at No 209.

Peyton Stearns throws an American football
Peyton Stearns playing American football

Big Breakthrough

That first taste of victory at WTA Tour level came at the ATX Open in February 2023 as she defeated the British No 1 Katie Boulter in a three-set match that lasted over three hours.

Stearns followed it up with a two-set win over Mirjam Bjorklund before her run was ended in the quarter-final by fellow American Katie Volynets.

With the seal broken, Stearns continued her steady progress and it wasn’t long before she reached her maiden WTA singles final at the Copa Colsanitas as she beat a string of seeded players to set up a match against Tatjana Maria.

The second-seeded German won in three sets, but the run helped Stearns to crack the top 100 for the first time in her career.

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Grand Slam Success

The American’s maiden victory at the majors came at the 2023 French Open as she defeated world No 48 Katerina Siniakova in the first round before stunning former champion Jelena Ostapenko in three sets. She eventually lost against Daria Kasatkina in the third round.

That was followed by a run to the fourth round of the US Open, resulting in a top 50 spot in the WTA Rankings and she ultimately finished the year at No 49.

Change Of Coach, Change Of Results

Following a somewhat sluggish start to 2024, Stearns slumped to outside the top 80.

“I think after the Open last year, I kind of struggled a little bit,” she revealed in March. “I rose so quickly, and with every rise there’s a fall. So I think I fell and I was trying to get myself out of that hole in different ways and I wasn’t finding a way out.

“In the matches I was losing, I was playing too safe. In those moments, I was just relying on my opponent to do something extraordinary or miss, instead of putting it on my racket and doing what I want to do.”

Not long after Stearns hired Tom Hill – Maria Sakkari’s former coach – and the success was almost instant as she put together an impressive run at the Morocco Open.

The 22-year-old reached her second WTA singles final and this time she went all the way as she defeated Mayar Sherif 6-2, 6-1 to lift her maiden trophy and start her climb back up the rankings.

The results have continued to flow after the Rabat final as she upset 10th seed Daria Kasatkina at Roland Garros to make it back-to-back third rounds in Paris for the second consecutive year.

So what has been the secret?

Stearns feels Hill has been key as she stated: “He was there pushing me every step of the way — in a very positive way. He’s helped me realize that my limits are a lot [less] than what I expect.

“Honestly, I think that’s why I’m doing so well right now.”

A return to the top 50 is waving, but Stearns’ will no doubt be aiming for higher than that in the coming months.

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