Sloane Stephens Refuses to Stand Still

In ELLE’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we sat down with Sloane Stephens, former US Open champion and wearer of several other titles: philanthropist (Sloane Stephens Foundation, Project B), beauty founder (Doc & Glo), and, most recently, on-air commentator for TNT’s French Open coverage. Watching the inner workings of her family’s funeral home business growing up—she once dreamed of becoming an embalmer—ultimately led her to launch a self-care-rooted beauty brand named after her grandparents, Doc & Glo, who instilled in her a strong practice of maintenance and preservation. That same philosophy carries over into her In Motion journal, which was inspired by a time when she felt accomplished on paper but disconnected from her own motivations. Today, it anchors the ethos behind all of her passions: Keep going—even if it’s just for yourself. “I think in tennis, there are so many ups and downs and so many emotional roller coasters that you’re on literally every single week, that being able to have something small just to fight for, and to go after and compete for, is always really important,” she says. What does that look like in practice? Sunscreen, prayer, bone broth, and family time. Ahead, Stephens shares how she keeps herself (and others) motivated, her guiding philosophy, and what success looks like both on and off the court.

My first job

I became a professional tennis player when I was 16. Kind of boring? Yeah, but I knew pretty early on what I was going to be doing. [However], I wanted to be an embalmer really badly. My family owned funeral homes growing up, so it was our family business. I just always thought it was so interesting and so cool, and I loved that. So I wanted to become an embalmer, and I helped there every summer.

My worst job

Nothing really. I loved the family business [because] people get [embalmers] so wrong. The people you have to watch out for are the ones who are alive, not the ones who are dead.

The best career advice I’ve ever received

“It’s not if, it’s when.” A lot of the time, we’re always working, working, working for something to happen, hoping and praying that it’ll happen. But the point of that [phrase] is if you put in the work, if you make sure you stay dedicated to whatever it is that you’re doing—your craft, your passion, your whatever it is—it’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, rather it’s when it’s going to happen. That’s definitely a mindset shift, knowing that things will turn around, things will change. If they’re not good now, they will be good eventually. You will end up where you want to be. Sometimes, we give up a little bit too early, thinking, “It’s never going to happen.” But some people’s journeys take two days, some people’s take 20 years.

Best advice I’ve ever given

“Control the controllables.” You can control your energy, your effort, how you’re showing up every day for the things and people that matter to you, and your attitude. All of the things that are in your control, control them. Put your foot on the gas, focus on those things. I think the focus is always so broad when you’re trying to prove yourself in this world of social media and Instagram; it’s like you’re comparing yourself and you’re trying to be cooler, and better, and wiser.

What beauty truly looks like to me

My grandma was super into beauty and was such a glam lady, and I got a lot of my tips and tricks from her. I’ve always loved not only beauty, but also self-care in general. Going to the spa, getting my nails done, doing little things that make me feel really good. Beauty and self-care, to me, all fall into one lane. It’s me being aware enough to see, “Why am I letting myself go? What is going on here? What do I need?” Whenever I’m so busy that I can’t even think about myself, that’s when I’m like, “Okay, it’s time to do the Beauty Olympics because we’re going to get our nails done, we’re getting our eyebrows done. We’re going to get our hair pressed out.” Putting that emphasis on yourself, that’s what beauty has been to me in my life. Because I can’t wear a full face of makeup to go play tennis on the court.

On building a family legacy of self-care through Doc & Glo

Whenever I do anything, I always have to have a reason that can get me up in the morning, something to push me forward. And naming my brand Tennis Court or Yellow Tennis Ball, I would have been like, “No, this isn’t going to work.” So when we were going through names, my grandparents had passed at the time, and I was going through this self-exploration of, “Who am I? What am I doing with my life?” “What’s important to me? Who’s important to me?” And my grandparents are always at the top of that list. I said, “Oh, we should just call it Doc & Glo,” because my grandparents had eight kids and nobody called them grandma and grandpa; everyone called them Doc and Glo.

Grandma [Glo] and Grandpa [Doc] are what wellness is to me. They had such a big family, so they made sure you not only took care of yourself but also took care of others.

And that was the full circle. This is why I want to name it after them, because not only do we have the brand, but we have the Doc & Glo Scholarship. And at the Sloane Stephens Foundation, we have all of these constant reminders of why we show up every day, why we want to be helpful, and why we want to be impactful in our community. That runs through every single one of my brands, especially for Doc & Glo—making people feel good and supporting them on their journey is a big part of that, whether you’re young or old. That’s what my grandparents did for me, so I think carrying that legacy and letting someone else feel it too is really important to me.

Why I launched Doc & Glo

This was my COVID baby. It was born from everyone being funky, and me battling my own little health conditions and not being able to find the products I wanted. I couldn’t find spa-like products that I wanted because we were in our hotel rooms. For tennis players, we were locked in our hotel rooms for two years, and you’re only out of your hotel two or three hours a day. It was tough. I was like, “When I’m traveling the world, what do I want? What do I want to consistently feel like?” I wanted something with a smell that reminds someone of a spa, but also a homey vibe. Creating a product that worked really well for sensitive people was important. We launched with two products—the deodorant and the mist—and everyone was like, “You’re crazy for launching a fragrance-free deodorant.” But I’m like, “Do you know how many people have skin conditions who are allergic to fragrance, who have underarm conditions?” This is clean beauty. This isn’t toxic. This isn’t aluminum. We’re learning so much more about ourselves now that can be put into products and into a formulation that actually makes sense for your body.

I’m always ashy, literally. I wanted something between a body butter and not a hotel watered-down lotion that goes off in two seconds. So everything really was from my personal experience and what I’ve experienced on the road, traveling, and not being able to get products that really fit my life.

My grounding philosophy

My alarm wakes me up every morning, and instead of rolling over and getting on my phone, I say, “Thank God I woke up today, so many people didn’t get to.” When I started doing that, I felt a lot clearer because I wasn’t waking up, getting on my phone, and looking at shit; I was actually in tune with [myself] like, “Okay, thank God I woke up, I’m here. I got a lot to do today. You’re going to have a kick ass day, let’s do it.” Sorry, you’re not supposed to be cussing in your prayers, too. But [I’m] just encouraging myself to keep going even when things are really hard. I think sometimes we forget to just even be thankful that we opened our eyes.

My morning non-negotiables

When I get up in the morning, I do my little one-minute prayer. If I’m home, I always put on a robe—I’m obsessed with robes—and my slippers. I have a dog, so we always go out first thing in the morning. Once I come back in, I shower, brush my teeth, and get ready for the day. I’m obsessed with sunscreen, so I always have to put sunscreen on before I do anything in life. Then, I always have bone broth or chicken broth in the morning before I go to practice. Because I make my breakfast the night before—fruits, my granola, etc.—I can just walk out of the house.

It looks a little different for game days because I don’t normally have a robe and slippers, which is so disappointing. But I normally wake up, shower quickly, and try to get out of bed. Even if I don’t have a match or anything, just getting up early and doing something helps me get my day going, whether it’s just walking with my coaches to get coffee; I don’t even drink coffee, but just walking to get the day started. This ritual is something we always do as a team, just to have a little powwow in the mornings.

How journaling with my In Motion keeps me accountable

I need to write something down every day, something that I was feeling, whether it was good or bad, and something that I accomplished. For a while, I was in a season of my life when I felt unaccomplished and uninspired, even though I had so many amazing things going on, because I wasn’t checking in with myself. I had to ask myself, “Am I doing it for me or am I doing it for someone else?” Where I am now in my life, I am so much more aware because I write it down every day for myself. Even three days ago, I went back and read what I wrote down in January, and was like, “Damn, I killed that shit. I’m so proud of myself.” We can’t go through life not checking in with ourselves. We’re not actually writing down what we’re feeling or paying attention.

So I write to focus on treating myself and being kinder to myself. I think being able to say that to yourself and acknowledge, “Oh, I need to do better,” that’s the only way you can improve, that’s the only way you can get better. Not only for yourself, but for other people, too: people on the team, people who work for me, like my coaches. You can’t pour from an empty cup type, right?

Why philanthropy is important to me

Tennis is obviously one of the higher-paid sports. So, being at the top of the game has always given me a different perspective, just because I know how lucky and privileged we are. We play an international sport, so we’re constantly traveling, we have more opportunities.

What excited me to work with Project B [an upcoming international basketball league offering undervalued players, specifically women athletes, higher pay and equity stake] was that they were giving these women opportunities not only to earn more money and the money they deserve, but also to be investors and be part of a project they were passionate about. It’s not very often that you see companies, brands, franchises, whatever it is, bringing in the players to be a part of more than just signing a contract and playing for whatever team they’re on. It gives them the opportunity to actually be part of the business and its growth. And while athletes are now fighting for rev share, salary caps, and CPA, all of those things, Project B came to the table with all of those opportunities for the players, and it’s not happening at this stage in any league. Our hope is that it will encourage other teams and franchises to do the same. It only raises the bar, and it raises the level, and that’s what we need for women’s sports right now.

How I define success today

I was injured last year, so I didn’t play, which was weird. But I have some smaller goals in tennis that I have not reached. Like the year before last, I really wanted to win a doubles tournament. I’ve been playing on tour for 15 years and never won a doubles tournament, and I was like, “This has got to change.” Just having small, attainable goals, obviously, but putting myself in a position to still win. I think everyone loves winning and competing, but I’ll know when it’s time to retire.

For now, having those small goals is important because they keep me going and give me something to look forward to. In tennis, there are so many ups and downs and so many emotional roller coasters that you’re on literally every single week, that being able to have something small just to fight for, and to go after and compete for is always really important—that’s what success is. It doesn’t have to be that I’ll win another Grand Slam. For me, success is getting out there, competing, and figuring out a way when it looks not great at all.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.