Stephens to open innaugural N.Y. Open

Sloane Stephens had no choice but to rest last winter as she recovered from January foot surgery. Little did she know then how much she would welcome the time off now.

Stephens, 24, realized years of promise in September when she won the U.S. Open over friend and fellow American Madison Keys just over a month after returning from injury. She had little time to celebrate her first Grand Slam title, however, since her swift rise through the rankings earned her a place on the United States Women’s Fed Cup team and a draw in three other tournaments.

“The offseason isn’t that long and I haven’t really been able to regroup that much, but the time that I have had off, I’ve tried to use it wisely,” Stephens said on a conference call introducing the inaugural 2018 New York Open, which she will help kick off with a couple of exhibition matches Feb. 11 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.

Stephens is looking ahead to starting fresh in 2018 after a drought of six-straight losses capped what otherwise was a storybook year. Her last win came at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with a $3.7 million check and top-20 ranking attached to it.

Stephens, currently the world No. 13, gets a chance to compete in a no-pressure environment when she faces Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in an exhibition match on opening night of the New York Open, which also will feature retired American stars James Blake and John McEnroe. The men’s tournament will follow over the ensuing week, ending with the final Feb. 18.

Before Stephens makes her New York return, don’t expect her to be relishing in her U.S. Open riches.

“I don’t like to do a whole lot anyway, so I’ve been very low key and under the radar and just trying to live my normal life because that’s I think what works best for me,” Stephens said. “I just like to be very simple.”