# Peyton Stearns

Peyton Mckenzie Stearns (born October 8, 2001) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the WTA as high as No. 43 in singles, achieved on 18 September 2023, and No. 71 in doubles, achieved on 9 September 2024. She has won one WTA Tour singles title, and five singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
She played college tennis for the Texas Longhorns. In spring 2022, Stearns became the first Texas player to become the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in women's tennis and elected to turn professional later that year.
In her first full season on tour in 2023, Stearns made her top 100 debut in April, after reaching her first WTA Tour quarterfinal at the inaugural 2023 ATX Open in March, before reaching her first career final at the 2023 Copa Colsanitas the following month.
At the 2023 US Open, she reached the fourth round of a major for the first time and so reached the top 50 in September 2023.

## College years

Stearns played two seasons of college tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, where she became the first Texas player to win the NCAA Division I Women's Singles National Championship in spring 2022. She has cited the success of fellow American Danielle Collins as inspiration for helping her decide to attend college before eventually turning professional, which she elected to do in June 2022.

## Career
### 2021–2022: WTA Tour & Grand Slam debuts

Stearns made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2021 Silicon Valley Classic, where she received entry as an alternate into the doubles main draw. She made her major debut as a wildcard at the 2022 US Open.

### 2023: WTA Tour final, major fourth round & top 50

At the inaugural ATX Open in Austin, Stearns earned her first WTA Tour win as a wildcard over qualifier Katie Boulter in a three-hour marathon. Next, she defeated fellow wildcard player Mirjam Björklund to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, where she lost to Katie Volynets in straight sets. The following week, she made her main-draw debut at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open as a wildcard and overcame a set deficit to defeat Rebeka Masarova in the first round, before succumbing to Bianca Andreescu from a set up in the next round.
Stearns reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the Copa Colsanitas, after defeating Rosa Vicens Mas, Elina Avanesyan, Tamara Zidanšek and Kamilla Rakhimova. Though she fell in three sets to defending champion Tatjana Maria in the championship match, her results at the tournament propelled her into the top 100 for the first time, at world No. 89, on April 10. This also ensured Stearns a direct entry into the main draw of the 2023 French Open. Later that month, she reached the final of the $100k Charleston Pro, losing it to compatriot Emma Navarro in three sets.
At the Morocco Open in Rabat, Stearns defeated Panna Udvardy and Leylah Fernandez to reach her third tour quarterfinal. She lost to Sloane Stephens in a third-set tiebreak, despite holding three match points.
Ranked world No. 69 at the French Open, Stearns recorded her first top-50 win, defeating No. 49 Kateřina Siniaková. She immediately followed that up with her first top-20 win, defeating former champion and 17th seed, Jeļena Ostapenko, in three sets. She was defeated by ninth seed Daria Kasatkina, in the third round.
At the US Open, she reached the fourth round defeating Viktoriya Tomova, Clara Tauson and Katie Boulter. As a result, she reached the top 50 at world No. 44 on 11 September 2023.

### 2024: WTA Tour title, French and US Open third rounds, WTA 1000 quarterfinal

In Indian Wells, Stearns recorded her second WTA 1000 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto. She held four match points against world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in the second round but lost the match in the third set tiebreak. On her debut in the main draw at the Miami Open, she also reached the second round with a win over Wang Yafan before losing to Victoria Azarenka.
Stearns won her maiden career title at the Rabat Grand Prix in Morocco, defeating Mayar Sherif in the final.
She reached for the second consecutive time the third round at the French Open, with wins over first time major qualifier Lucija Ćirić Bagarić in three sets, and tenth seed Daria Kasatkina.
At the WTA 1000, the Canadian Open in Toronto, she reached the quarterfinals for the first time at this level, defeating Anna Blinkova, and then upsetting seventh seed Madison Keys and 12th seed Victoria Azarenka, both matches by retirement. She lost to third seed and eventual champion Jessica Pegula.
Ranked No. 47 at the US Open, she again reached the third round defeating Lesia Tsurenko and upsetting 12th seed Daria Kasatkina to set up a meeting with 24th seed Donna Vekić which she lost in straight sets.

### 2025: First top-10 win

In February, at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Stearns defeated Ons Jabeur in the first round and then overcame world No. 8 Zheng Qinwen in three sets to record her first win against a top-10 ranked player. She lost in the third round to 12th seed Mirra Andreeva in a match played later on the same day as her encounter with Zheng due to rain interruptions setting the tournament schedule back.

## Performance timelines

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

### Singles

Current through the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| French Open | A | A | 3R | 3R | 0 / 2 | 4–2 | 67% |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| US Open | Q1 | 1R | 4R | 3R | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | 63% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–3 | 4–4 | 0 / 8 | 9–8 | 53% |
| WTA 1000 ||||||||
| Qatar Open | NTI | A | NTI | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Dubai Championships | A | NTI | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Indian Wells Open | Q2 | A | 2R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Miami Open | A | A | Q2 | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Canadian Open | A | A | 1R | QF | 0 / 2 | 3–2 | 60% |
| Cincinnati Open | Q1 | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Guadalajara Open | NH | A | 1R | NTI | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| China Open | NH | NH | 1R | 3R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Wuhan Open | NH | NH | NH | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 8–8 | 0 / 13 | 9–13 | 41% |
| Career statistics ||||||||
| | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Tournaments | 0 | 2 | 14 | 19 | Career total: 35 | Career total: 35 | Career total: 35 |
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Career total: 1 | Career total: 1 | Career total: 1 |
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Career total: 2 | Career total: 2 | Career total: 2 |
| Hard win–loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 8–10 | 9–12 | 0 / 24 | 17–24 | 41% |
| Clay win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 1 / 8 | 15–7 | 68% |
| Grass win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 16–14 | 17–18 | 1 / 35 | 33–34 | 49% |
| Win % | – | 0% | 53% | 49% | Career total: 49% | Career total: 49% | Career total: 49% |
| Year-end ranking | 392 | 209 | 53 | | $1,577,274 | $1,577,274 | $1,577,274 |

### Doubles

Current through the 2024 Morocco Open.
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| French Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| US Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 0 / 8 | 4–8 | 33% |
| WTA 1000 ||||||||
| Qatar Open | NTI | A | NTI | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Dubai Championships | A | NTI | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Indian Wells Open | A | A | 2R | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Miami Open | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Cincinnati Open | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% |
| Guadalajara Open | NH | A | 2R | NTI | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| China Open | NH | NH | SF | A | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
| Wuhan Open | NH | NH | NH | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 6–5 | 2–2 | 0 / 8 | 8–8 | 50% |
| Career statistics ||||||||
| Tournaments | 2 | 2 | 9 | 10 | Career total: 23 | Career total: 23 | Career total: 23 |
| Overall win–loss | 0–2 | 1–2 | 8–9 | 6–10 | 0 / 21 | 15–21 | 42% |
| Year-end ranking | 538 | 266 | 101 | | | | |

## WTA Tour finals
### Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

* Legend
* Grand Slam (0–0)
* WTA 1000 (0–0)
* WTA 500 (0–0)
* WTA 250 (1–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (0–0)
* Clay (1–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoor (1–1)
* Indoor (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Apr 2023 | Copa Colsanitas, Colombia | WTA 250 | Clay | Tatjana Maria | 3–6, 6–2, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | May 2024 | Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco | WTA 250 | Clay | Mayar Sherif | 6–2, 6–1 |

## ITF Circuit finals
### Singles: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner–ups)

* Legend
* $100,000 tournaments (0–1)
* $60,000 tournaments (1–0)
* $25,000 tournaments (4–3)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (5–2)
* Clay (0–2)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2019 | ITF Florence, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Claire Liu | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jun 2021 | ITF Sumter, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Fernanda Contreras | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Jul 2022 | ITF Columbus, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Katrina Scott | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Oct 2022 | ITF Austin, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Clervie Ngounoue | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Win | 3–2 | Oct 2022 | ITF Florence, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Alexandra Vecic | 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, 6–2, 7–5 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Jan 2023 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Emma Navarro | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 4–3 | Jan 2023 | ITF Orlando, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Robin Montgomery | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 5–3 | Feb 2023 | Georgia's Rome Open, United States | 60,000 | Hard (i) | Gabriela Knutson | 3–6, 6–0, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–4 | Apr 2023 | ITF Charleston Pro, United States | 100,000 | Clay | Emma Navarro | 6–2, 2–6, 5–7 |

### Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

* Legend
* $60,000 tournaments (1–1)
* $25,000 tournaments (1–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (2–0)
* Clay (0–1)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jun 2021 | ITF Charleston Pro, United States | 60,000 | Clay | Rasheeda McAdoo | Fanny Stollár Aldila Sutjiadi | 0–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jun 2022 | ITF Sumter, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Kylie Collins | Allura Zamarripa Maribella Zamarripa | 6–3, 5–7, [10–7] |
| Win | 2–1 | Sep 2022 | Berkeley Challenge, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Elvina Kalieva | Allura Zamarripa Maribella Zamarripa | 7–6$^{(5)}$, 7–6$^{(5)}$ |

## Head-to-head record
### Record against top 10 players

* She has a 0–7 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
| Result | W–L | Opponent | Rank | Event | Surface | Round | Score | Rank |
| 2023 ||||||||||
| Loss | 0–1 | Daria Kasatkina | No. 9 | French Open, France | Clay | 3R | 0–6, 1–6 | No. 69 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jessica Pegula | No. 4 | Washington Open, US | Hard | 2R | 3–6, 4–6 | No. 59 |
| Loss | 0–3 | Caroline Garcia | No. 7 | Tennis in Cleveland, US | Hard | 2R | 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, 3–6 | No. 58 |
| Loss | 0–4 | Markéta Vondroušová | No. 9 | US Open, United States | Hard | 4R | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 3–6, 2–6 | No. 59 |
| 2024 ||||||||||
| Loss | 0–5 | Markéta Vondroušová | No. 8 | Dubai Championships, UAE | Hard | 2R | 1–6, 7–5, 2–6 | No. 65 |
| Loss | 0–6 | Aryna Sabalenka | No. 2 | Indian Wells Open, US | Hard | 2R | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 2–6, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ | No. 64 |
| Loss | 0–6 | Jessica Pegula | No. 6 | Canadian Open, Canada | Hard | QF | 4–6, 5–7 | No. 53 |