Early 2024 US Open, A Time Of Transition, Retirement And Victory Celebrations
FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
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August 30, 2024,
Most of the big stars survived the first round.
Sloane Stephens did not.
Define being a big star?
Winning a US Open Championship.
After winning the first set 6-0, it appeared that she would survive.
Maybe even thrive. A rare recent occurrence.
But then a recent Sloane Stephens pattern emerged where she couldn’t close out the match. She would eventually lose to Clara Burel 6-0, 5-7, 5-7.
Clara is a French professional tennis player who, according to online research, has already made over S2 million dollars in her young career. On June 10, 2024, she peaked at No. 42 in the WTA singles rankings.
On the Junior Circuit, in 2018, Clara reached the junior singles final at three major events, the Australian Open, the US Open and the Youth Summer Olympics (YOG).
Pretty impressive, especially when she took out a former US Open Champion in Sloane.
Sloane is an American professional tennis player who achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3, after Wimbledon in 2018.
Drum roll.
Our luminary was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles. She also has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 85 and has won one WTA title.
That 2017 championship now seems so long ago.
In watching the match, it was obvious Clara was nervous in the beginning but once she calmed down and put pressure on Sloane, it was the former US Open Champion who appeared to crack under the pressure.
The insiders at usopen.org reported, “After losing the first nine games in the first match of Opening Night of the 2024 US Open, Clara Burel of France staged an amazing comeback to eliminate 2017 singles champion Sloane Stephens 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 in 2 hours and 6 minutes.”
The online fan chatter was brutal ranging from, why was this match on primetime to, it is time for Sloane to retire.
We hope that doesn’t happen but when is Sloane going to break out of this slumber? She is certainly better than this.
There was another major American disappointment.
Earlier in the year, when Danielle Collins announced her retirement from the sport, it was widely expected that she would go out with a bang, complete with a retirement ceremony, after a deep run in the largest tournament on her home soil.
That didn’t happen.
As posted by the informative tennis source usopen.org, “Caroline Dolehide advanced to the second round of the 2024 US Open for the first time in her career after upsetting compatriot and No. 11 seed Danielle Collins, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, on Tuesday.”
When Danielle won the first set, it appeared as though she was going to cruise. Not to be.
The results in this match were surprising.
Post retirement announcement, Danielle has been consistently winning.
In the spring, she won back to back titles in Miami and Charleston and has produced 38 match wins since January, fifth-most on tour.
Danielle concluded 2023 ranked world No. 55 and, of this writing, is ranked a powerful 11 in the WTA rankings.
Now, for a career summary appreciation.
Danielle has reached career-high WTA rankings of No. 7 in singles and No. 79 in doubles. She reached a major singles final at the 2022 Australian Open.
In that championship battle, against Ash Barty, that was an incredible match Down Under.
She won four singles titles, including a WTA 1000 title at the 2024 Miami Open, and one doubles title.
Our sensational star waited and emerged into the pros in a conventional but unusual way.
Danielle played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia and won the NCAA singles title twice, during her sophomore and senior years in 2014 and 2016.
She finished her career in Virginia as the top-ranked collegiate player.
Having first established herself on the WTA Tour when she reached the semifinals of the 2018 Miami Open as a qualifier, her breakthrough came at the 2019 Australian Open where she advanced to the semifinals, defeating world No. 2 Angelique Kerber en route. She won her first WTA Tour title in 2021 at the Palermo Ladies Open.
Ranked number in the world seems too much in her prime to retire.
In her closing comments to the press, she indicated that she was ready to move on to a new life that may include having children and a family.
Understand. Life is one big transition.
We appreciate the memories and wish her well going forward.
It appears another popular American has decided to hang up her tennis shoes.
Shelby Rogers had a tall task, in what might be her final match in losing to the number 6 ranked player in the world in America’s Jessica Pegula. She fell in two sets 4-6, 3-6.
Shelby Rogers is now, an American former professional tennis player.
She had career-high WTA rankings of No. 30 in singles and No. 40 in doubles, and won six singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit.
Rogers won the girls’ national championship at 17. Her best results at the majors were quarterfinals at the 2016 French Open and the 2020 US Open.
This American star was noted for her victories against top-ranked players which include Simona Halep (No. 4) at the 2017 Australian Open, Serena Williams (No. 9) at the 2020 Lexington Challenger and Ashleigh Barty (No. 1) at the 2021 US Open.
Rogers is also undefeated against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová, with wins at the 2016 French Open and 2020 US Open, the latter in which she saved four match points. Both are also the only instances in her career where she made the quarterfinals at the majors.
Still, making the making the quarter finals at a Grand Slam is a career defining moment.
In her closing speech at the 2024 US Open, there were few dry eyes in the audience. Shelby has always impressed us with her grace, smile and wonderful sense of humor.
She will be greatly missed.
It is early in the 2024 US Open but, as in life, the major transitions continue. Where does the time go? We remember both of these two retiring stars early in their careers.
They were truly special.
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OPENING PHOTO lev-radin-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Burel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloane_Stephens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Collins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Rogers
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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