Sloane Stephens knows a thing or two about the grind. After over a decade of dominating the courts, the tennis star has dealt with the wear and tear that comes with intense training, constant travel, and grueling competition schedules. Like many athletes, post-match recovery and body care are sacred rituals—but for Stephens, the products she used always seemed to fall short. So, what did she do? She decided to take matters into her own hands—literally. Enter Sloane Stephens, the entrepreneur! The tennis champ recently revealed what inspired her to create her very own body care product, and her story is nothing short of intriguing

The American tennis sensation participated in an event organized by the fitness brand BoxUnion and addressed people present at the venue. She also opened up on the details of her venture Doc & Glo. which she started in August this year. Stephens revealed the reason that prompted her to work on the word and also highlighted how she paid tribute to her grandparents through the brand. 

Speaking at the venue, Stephens said, “On the side, I started this side project called Doc & Glo. I named it after my grandparents.” For the unversed, Stephens shared a very close bond with her grandparents,  Doctor Noel Smith and Gloria Smith, whom she unfortunately lost in 2021. Continuing further, the star player revealed how did COVID pandemic became a motivating factor for her to start her brand and address concerns that she herself faced once. 

“During COVID no one could shower, we can use the locker rooms so I was like there has to be another way. No one was using deodorant, everyone smelled. It was terrible. And I was like we have to come up with some way that people would smell better and take better care of themselves,” Stephens said as she shared an intriguing insight into how she used the pandemic as an opportunity. This, however, is not the first time when the star player has opened up about her brand and highlighted how important it is for her.

In an interview with People in August, Sloane Stephens claimed that her routine often lacked the most basic yet necessary steps. To fill the vacuum, she created Doc & Glo., with utmost determination and passion. “This has been four years in the making,” Stephens said. “Making custom formulations, everything from scratch, was a process. I didn’t want to rush anything. It was very much my passion project: beauty has always been something I’ve been really passionate about.” However, she often questioned herself in the process about what exactly she was trying to accomplish.

This question eventually led her to make a universal brand for the “movers, the shakers and all in between.” But the journey has not been smooth sailing for Stephens as the star player revealed the intricacies of becoming a strong entrepreneur.

When Sloane Stephens highlighted the nuances of starting a new venture

Sloane Stephens has depicted immense resilience on the tennis courts throughout her career. This also resulted in her remarkable victory at the US Open in 2017 and her rise to the 3rd spot in the ranking table. However, starting a new venture tested her all over again, and eventually, Stephens came to the conclusion that “entrepreneurship is not for the weak.”

Speaking about the nuances of starting a new venture, Stephens said, “Learning a new business is a whole different beast,” Elaborating further, she added, “It’s finding retailers, cold emailing people, messaging them on LinkedIn, finding the right manufacturer — things like that.” However, even in the adverse moments she managed to stay calm and her brand is the result of her determined efforts. “It’s definitely something that you have to be totally ready for,” Stephens said about being her own boss.

For now, it would be interesting to see how well the brand manages to attract the masses and how soon will Stephens’ efforts become a game-changer in the market.