Amanda Anisimova is set to make her highly anticipated return to the professional circuit at the 2026 French Open after being sidelined for two months. The American recently arrived at Roland Garros and commenced her preparations for her campaign with Hailey Baptiste, prompting a heartwarming message from Sloane Stephens.
Sloane Stephens Reacts to Amanda Anisimova’s French Open Practice
Anisimova last competed on tour at the Miami Open in March, where she suffered a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. She then delayed the start of her clay-court swing, pulling out of the Charleston Open with a left wrist injury. The injury also forced her to miss the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.
Anisimova has now arrived at the French Open and begun gearing up for her first professional match in two months. Although the 24-year-old sparked concern by still sporting a taped wrist, she appeared to enjoy her practice session with Hailey Baptiste, sharing highlights from their time on the court.
“All love with Hails 🕺🏽💃,” the American captioned her Instagram post.
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Sloane Stephens expressed delight at Anisimova’s return to the court, with Baptiste also sharing a sweet reaction.
“I like this a lot!! 😍,” Stephens commented.
“❤️❤️❤️,” Baptiste commented.
Anisimova will enter the main draw of the clay-court Major as the No. 6 seed, while Baptiste will feature as the No. 26 seed. Meanwhile, Stephens is competing in the qualifiers at Roland Garros for the first time since 2011. She triumphed in her first qualifying match, beating Carol Lee 6-3, 6-2.
Afterward, Stephens explained why she is embracing the experience and enjoying the challenge of competing in the qualifiers.
“Only time will tell, but I think I’ve had an interesting journey on the way back here. It just feels different this time, but it’s fun. Playing on a protected ranking, playing qualies of Slams – just a different challenge. I think there’s a lot of things that I haven’t done and things I need to accomplish and overcome, and I’m just ready for that. I mean, I’ve done all the good stuff, so I might as well,” she said.
The 33-year-old also expressed satisfaction with her game and comfort level in Paris, saying, “I’m super comfortable out there and just here at Roland-Garros in general. When you have a place that you’re familiar with and you know how to manoeuvre, it feels good. So, who knows what will happen, but I am just happy to be playing well.”
As Sloane Stephens battles her way through the qualifiers, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste will await the reveal of the singles draw on Thursday, May 21, to learn their path at the French Open.
