Fixing Sloane Stephens

What to do with a player who has the talent, but lacks in the mental department? That's the situation with Sloane Stephens heading to red clay, arguably the surface which she's been the most consistently successful.

At a glance, Sloane's resume as one of the leading members of WTA's "Next Generation" is not too shabby. She's produced a couple of major upsets, has been a regular in the second week of Grand Slam tournaments, and hit a career high ranking of #11 back in October. However, many of those who know her talent and follow her from week to week find it hard to ignore some of the deep valleys she has found herself in. Her penchant for losing several consecutive games within a match while seemingly unable to find any sort of solution (and to lesser players) is astonishing, and alarming.

Deleting Twitter hate can't be taught, either

There is a belief within almost every sporting circle that you can teach an athlete the skills needed to play the game, but you can't teach an athlete how to perform under pressure. While "winning" can't be taught in practice, it can be learned through experience. In Charleston, Venus Williams herself said that she acquired some of her killer instinct not naturally, but by watching her sister Serena tough out close matches.

So there is hope for Sloane yet! She is a strong girl physically, but here are a few simple steps she can take towards building her heart and brain muscle that every champion needs:

1. Play smaller tournaments. She's already in the process of checking this one off since she will be playing in Bogota this week. More match play can only do good for a player who might be low on confidence. With only one other Top 50 opponent in the Bogota field, picking up momentum has never been easier.
2. Play more doubles, which she's also doing this week by pairing up with Paula Ormaechea! For someone who's known for her rocket forehand from the baseline, Sloane is surprisingly adept finishing in the forecourt. Extra reps at net may add some much-needed diversity to her gameplan in singles.
3. Play every point. While Sloane's 10-year outlook on her tennis career is correct, tennis is a sport where you're only as good as the last point you played and giving away points (or entire games) doesn't do you any favors. When Sharapova was on her double-bagel streak at the 2013 Australian Open, she was asked why she couldn't give away just one game. She replied, "That's not my style." If one wants to be successful in tennis, it shouldn't be anyone's style.

I have faith in Sloane's game and that she'll turn it around mentally. She's still very young and there is time to put all the pieces of her tennis together, but I hope she realizes time is as unrelenting an opponent as anyone she'll ever face and it won't be on her side forever.

Any other Sloane backers out there? Leave a comment and keep me company on this quickly emptying bandwagon!