Sloane Stephens Answers Tennis Questions From Twitter

Hi, I'm Sloane Stephens,

and I'll be answering your questions from Twitter.

This is Tennis Support. [rhythmic electronic music]

Chad Kastel.

When you're looking for a coach,

are you looking for someone who's just gonna

psychologically motivate you?

Would you hire someone who changes your strokes?

Strategy?

I think at this point in time, like,

with me being so old, I think that I'm kind of like

stuck in my ways when I play tennis,

so I think someone who definitely understands me well,

someone who gets me.

Changing my strokes, like, isn't really a thing now,

but I think, like, strategy, now,

is like really important,

like, as you get older.

But yeah, I think that's what I look for in coach,

someone who, like, really gets me and understands me.

Writedeb.

Someone needs to invent cooling paint

or cement for tennis courts and playgrounds

to help reduce the on-court temperature.

Anybody up for it?

I would totally invest in our company, writerdeb,

if you came up with that

because I've been on the court playing when it's super hot

and it is not fun,

your feet start to burn

and it gets sweaty and like, yuck,

so I would definitely.

If you're on Shark Tank, I'll invest in you.

Okay.

Rcola, Richie-Poor.

How many hours a day should a junior player practice?

I don't know, and there's a lot of factors in that,

like, are you homeschooled?

Are you trying to go to college?

Are you trying to turn pro?

How old are you?

Where do you play?

Are you at an academy?

Do you take lessons?

Do you play in a junior program?

There's like so many things that go into that,

but like, I say if you're homeschooled

and you're like, trying to go to college,

like, on a full scholarship,

I think you should probably play like

three or four hours a day?

It's like, not too much, not too little.

It's a lot, though, it's a commitment.

That Goan Guy?

@schmmuck.

Why are there so many lefties in tennis?

Is there any advantage from serving with the left hand?

I totally wish I was a lefty

'cause I'd be so good if I was.

And why are there so many lefties?

I honestly don't think that there's that many lefties,

to be honest.

Like, I'd say, like, in the top hundred,

there's probably like, for girls' side,

there's probably like 10 to 15 maybe?

Which is not a lot, out of a hundred people.

Is there any advantage from serving with the left hand?

I think it's just like a different angle

and obviously since, like, the ratio from lefty

to righties is like totally uneven,

I think that there is like a pretty good advantage

if you're left-handed,

which is why I wish I was left-handed.

ATP Guy.

If there were to be a fifth Grand Slam,

something that is a mix of different surfaces would be cool.

Ideally, something where the higher seed

gets to pick the surface.

Like a home court advantage.

Clay, grass, and hard court would be the three options.

Thoughts?

I'm assuming there would be like

a lot of prize money for this

and that, I mean, men and women,

and it would be, yeah,

but like, home court advantage is like at your home,

so then where would this event take place?

We have to, they're gonna have a lot to talk through

to get to the bottom of that.

So, my favorite type of court of to play on is red clay.

I love playing in Europe.

I think those are like the best clay courts in the world.

Obviously at the French Open.

But yeah, I like playing on hard courts too.

Obviously, growing up in the US,

we play on a lot of hard courts

and we play on a lot of, like,

hard tru, which is like green clay.

But my favorite surface is red clay.

Nicholas Suarez.

Who's the toughest opponent you've ever faced?

I'd say probably Serena Williams,

Simona Halep, Li Na, I played her one time before.

I wish I could've played Kim Clijsters,

she's like my favorite player of all time,

and she retired before I got good.

So it took me too long.

Sam Richards.

Is it possible to be in love with a backhand slice?

Have you never been in love with anything else before?

[laughing]

I definitely wouldn't.

I mean, yeah, it's possible.

You love what you love, right?

Can't help what you love

and who you love

and what you like

and if that's a backhand slice,

I'm not, I'm about it.

Oh and FearTheKirch.

To tennis people on here:

Do you know of any fun/good exercises

to practice forehand volleys, beginner level?

I don't know, I'd say, like,

if you really wanna practice forehand,

you can probably like feed like,

someone feed, like a coach feed you balls.

Or, like, go practice on the wall,

like, 'cause then you know the ball's always coming back

and like you can kind of control the speed.

So, I mean, yeah.

I'd say, like, for beginners, like,

either someone feeding it to you or, like,

hitting it against the wall.

Which is still cool,

people don't like to do that,

but it's still cool, in my opinion.

TheZenDragoon.

Think it'd hurt being hit by a tennis ball being served?

Yeah, if you don't get out the way and get hit.

That, yeah, duh, that [bleep] would hurt.

All right, Laura MacMurchy.

Do tennis skirts/skorts have ball pockets?

No way these women just put a ball up

the side of their shorts and it stays there

not interfering or falling out during a rally, right?

No, because you, like, put it in your booty shorts.

Now lemme show you.

This is a tennis skirt, right?

And under here

there's like a little short, right?

And you put the ball in here.

And like, these are so tight to your skin

that they just like, the ball just like,

sits in here like, can't even show you,

but like this.

And it's so tight to you, it doesn't fall out.

Like, I don't know, I've never had it fall out.

Like, all the years I've been playing tennis

it's never fallen out.

So I don't know.

Oh and BestDressedFYI.

Do you have to be a professional ball retriever

to work a professional match?

Honestly, I think at the US Open

and like at the Grand Slams,

you have to go through like a whole process,

and like, they pick you and you have to run

like a certain amount out of like time,

like they time you for your sprints.

And I think they have, like, levels,

and then I also think that

the better you get, like, the higher matches you get to do,

'cause I've had some of the same ball people

for like, years.

Like, since I was, like, younger.

If you really love tennis,

you get to be around, like,

Roger Federer and Serena Williams

and all these people that, like,

you obviously probably look up to.

So, at the end of the day,

I think it's probably like a cool job.

Like, be around people you love and then get paid?

That was a good question.

That was like the best question we had so far.

Okay, Billy Bond, bond0033.

Tennis, agree or disagree that ball boys

and girls should or should not

have to touch the sweaty towels of players?

I mean,

what do the people say?

That comes with the territory.

Now, if someone's sick or bleeding or whatever,

then that [bleep] nasty.

But sweat, I mean, everybody has sweat and you kinda,

they throw it, they don't, like, lay it on you,

like, I don't know.

I think that just comes with the job, I think.

Yeah.

Kinda gross, but mm.

Chris_A_Fisher.

I was watching your WTA Finals highlights

against Bertens from '18.

Your ground strokes look so effortless.

I saw you hit via sitting in a chair

when you had the toe injury.

Do you think it can help with form?

My form needs work.

Well, first of all, I broke my foot, not my toe.

I wish it was my toe, 'cause that would've been

a lot easier to recover from.

I don't know, I think maybe the video just looked good

'cause I have already good form?

I don't know what you would, like, teach someone,

like if you were sitting in a chair.

I'd say you just work on your form and lose the chair.

Okay, YEPBLINDTBH.

Tennis experts, how does the serve work

in the first of the first set?

I assume there's a coin toss to decide who gets to pick,

do certain players always defer their serve

so that they serve in the second game of the set?

Okay, so, obviously when the match starts

they like, flip a coin.

So obviously, who wins, you can pick serve or return.

And then, or you can pick side,

which is like, I'll take that side

and then the other person gets to pick serve or return.

And then, or you can defer,

which is like the other person gets to pick first.

Some players do actually like, try to hold serve

so that they can serve, like, make the person

serve out the end of a set,

like, if they're like down a break.

I don't know, whatever,

I just know serve or return,

that's that, I don't know,

I can't calculate all the other stuff.

It's too much.

Thank you so much for your questions,

I'll see you next time on Tennis Support.