Tennis Star Sloane Stephens Has a Sweet and Unexpected At-Home Hobby

Alison McDermott
·6 min read

Photo: Stanlo Photography

The last gasps of “brat” summer are approaching, but tennis star Sloane Stephens is ready. The 2017 US Open champion has been training hard for this year’s tournament, which kicks off on August 26 in New York City. When she competes this time around, she’ll be armed with products from her new body-care brand, Doc & Glo. The brand launched yesterday with a deodorant and a deodorizing mist featuring optic yellow packaging resembling that iconic tennis-ball color—which just happens to be not far off from the viral color of the season. Though Stephens acknowledges that the tennis-themed hue was unintentional, the sporty-chic (and sustainable) bottles would look stylish on any bathroom vanity. Not to mention, “it kind of worked out with the whole brat summer thing,” she says.

Doc & Glo was first conceived during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Stephens and her fellow athletes were no longer allowed to shower post-match due to closed locker rooms. Faced with stinky circumstances, Stephens set out to develop a line of products for people on the move, like herself. Scents have always been an essential piece of Stephens’s lifestyle. Frequently traveling from tournament to tournament, she always brings a candle along with her, usually in a comforting scent like vanilla. The practice helps to ground her and provide a sense of home while on the go.

Stephens, who is admittedly a grandparents’ girl, named her brand after her grandfather, Doc, and grandmother, Glo. “They are the ones who taught me the most about self care and self love, and I wanted to give that to my brand,” Stephens says. The ESPY award winner’s connection with her grandparents also carries through into her home decor by way of an heirloom dining table. Below, Stephens shares more about the special items in her home.

AD: What city do you live in?

Sloane Stephens: Literally every single one. But I have a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a home in LA.

Describe the style of your home in one sentence.

I would say that my LA home is “modern comfortable.”

What is one kitchen item you use every single day?

My kettle. I make tea every day.

What is your favorite gadget or appliance?

My Vitamix. That thing blends up everything, honey!

What is your bedtime ritual?

I light a candle, then get in the shower—a steaming hot shower, I have to put an emphasis on that—and then I do my shower routine which sometimes includes exfoliating. I always do some type of eye mask or face mask. I’m very into that. Then I get in my comfy robe, then in my PJs. I have my tea, get into bed, do my face serums, and that’s it!

What is your ideal bedding setup?

I have a Sleep Number bed and it has changed my whole life. I recommend it to every single person. I have recruited so many people to Sleep Number. That’s my top-tier bedtime thing.

Me and my husband go on “zero gravity” (it’s an angle of the bed), then we put on the foot heater, and it’s honestly the best thing that’s ever happened to us.

Sleep Number® Climate360® smart bed

$.00, Sleep Number

Doc & Glo No. 3161 Game-Changing Deodorant

$18.00, Free People

Which room in your house is your favorite and why?

My son’s room, because we worked so hard on it and we wanted to make it so homey and comfy for him. We got the cutest wallpaper that I spent a year looking for, and we painted the closet green because he really wanted that. We spend a ton of time in his room just watching TV and hanging out together. Everywhere else in the house is very “adult-y,” and it’s nice, but Cameron’s room is the one room that is for a kid and it’s fun.

Describe one item in your home that you brought back from a trip.

I go to Rome every year and I always bring back olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The balsamic is always my favorite. We get a one hundred-year-old aged balsamic. I have to buy like four or five [bottles], and I use it on all of our salads at home.

What object in your house has extra sentimental value?

My dining room table. It was my grandparents’ dining room table and when they passed away, I wanted to refurbish it and use it as my own. We spent every holiday at my grandparents’ house and I didn’t want them to throw it away. I redid the table to match my kitchen area and we had our first Thanksgiving on it last year! The first holiday I ever had my husband over for, when he wasn’t my husband, but my boyfriend, we all sat at that table. We remember having the best Thanksgiving with my grandparents. To have that be something that we all bonded over and to then bring it into our new home that we built together, that made it super special.

What is the oldest thing in your house?

Probably my grandparents’ table. That or an Andy Warhol portrait of Pelé that I got my husband for his birthday.

What is the newest thing in your house?

Our Sleep Number! Or the Frame TV, which we have around the whole house. But, the Sleep Number is so much cooler.

The Frame QLED 4K LS03D

$3800.00, Samsung

Propel 510 Blender

$500.00, Vitamix

Do you have a room or area that serves an unusual purpose?

Yeah, I’m a beekeeper, so we have bees at our LA home. We have an outdoor area that our bees live in. Two weeks ago, we had our first harvest and got about 110 pounds of honey. It’s all being processed now and I’m jarring it and everything. I also have an outdoor wellness space that has a sauna, cold plunge, and outdoor shower which is a cool area too.

What would you change about your home if you could only choose one thing?

I would change the wallpaper in my guest bathroom. And, honestly, I wouldn’t have painted the outside of my house white. I would have done a different color. My contractor initially wanted to paint it black on black and I was like, “absolutely not.” But now I’m seeing that’s such a trend. So, I think in the next 10 years I will paint my house something other than white.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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