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For this week’s body-care conversation, Glossy sat down with Sloane Stephens, a professional tennis player and Grand Slam title winner. When Stephens isn’t training or playing in-season, she is running the Sloane Stephens Foundation — she founded the foundation in 2013 to help improve the quality of life for underserved students through tennis and educational opportunities. She also uses her free time to spread awareness about body positivity and self-confidence on her social platforms.
Stephens said she remembers being in the spotlight for nearly her entire life. As a world-renowned professional tennis player who also runs a foundation, the majority of her schedule is spent either in front of the camera, inside a gym or on the court. Early on, the pressure of always being “on” manifested in her developing a “weird” relationship with her body, she said. But, as time went on, she learned to love and accept her body the way it is.
“My body has changed, and as I’ve gotten older, it’s always been on camera in front of the world. Every little thing about my body [was criticized]. You gain a little bit of weight, everyone sees it. You lose a little bit of weight, everyone sees it. And everyone has something to say about it,” Stephens told Glossy. “My relationship with my body has been interesting, but I would say, for the most part, it’s been positive. I’m someone who [believes you should] treat yourself, don’t cheat yourself. And I’ve always loved the way I’ve looked even if I was a little bit heavier or if I was a little bit skinnier. My main goal for my body, in general, is always to be healthy.”
Stephens has earned multiple prestigious tennis titles, brand deals and hundreds of young fans who hope to possess the same level of self-confidence. However, Stephens shares that that isn’t always easy.
On a typical day, Stephens trains for over four hours. She usually starts with gym training in the morning, which can include anything from stretching and warm-ups to speed and dynamic training. Immediately after the gym, she does conditioning, focusing on core strength, body stability and balance. After that, she plays tennis for roughly two hours. And, depending on the day, she does either another gym training session or a massage recovery.
Stephens said that such an active and demanding training schedule can sometimes take a toll on her body, which is why she makes sure she treats herself to multiple showers a day to cleanse her body of accumulated sweat and body odor. She can take anywhere from three to four daily showers depending on how rigorous her training schedule is, she said. She called the shower a form of self-care, adding that the one non-negotiable beauty item she always includes in her post-shower routine is sunscreen.
“I’m always outside, so sunscreen is one of the biggest things in my routine that I’m very anal about,” Stephens said. “When I’m feeling very fancy, I use the Barbara Sturm sunscreen — that stays in my bathroom. When I’m traveling, I have an entire bag [inside of my tennis bag] that says SPF on it.”
Stephens said she’s tested a lot of sunscreens to find her current Holy Grail. On her face, she uses Neutrogena’s Sport Face Oil-Free Lotion Sunscreen, and on her body, she uses Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Sunscreen. “I like the spray for my body. I don’t want to touch [the product] with my hands since I have to touch my racket,” she said.
Below, a normal get-ready routine for Sloane Stephens:
“In the morning, I wake up and look at my phone — I always look at my phone. I also always have a glass of water next to my bed. Those are the first few things in the morning for me: phone and water.
Then I go straight into brushing my teeth and getting myself ready. If I’m just at home and I’m training all day, I’m very simple. I wash my face, and I only put on sunscreen and moisturizer. When I’m feeling very fancy, I use the Barbara Sturm sunscreen.
Then I take multiple showers a day because I’m sweating. I come home from training and I eat lunch, and then I go back to training and I come back — so there’s a lot of showering in there. If I’m somewhere really hot, then I’ll do a lukewarm shower. But everyone who knows me knows that I have to have the water scalding hot. I actually want to burn my skin; I have to have a very, very hot shower.
And at least two to three times a week, I’m doing a light body scrub to exfoliate everything off.
Everyone laughs at me because I wear really expensive perfume. It’s not to be worn every day, but I do it because it makes me feel nice. It’s the Baccarat Rouge 540 — that’s my go-to. It’s not going to fight all of your funk obviously, but it smells good and lasts a long time. Combine that with some sunscreen, and you’re going to smell [amazing].”
Plus, shop her Holy Grail products below.
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