US Open Champion Sloane Stephens Unhappy With $146 Million Louis Armstrong Stadium

Sloane Stephens, the defending women’s singles US Open champion, was not too happy after she was made to play her first round match of the 2018 championships in the newly completed Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre underwent a $600 million renovation over the course of two years, during which time a reported $146 million was spent on rebuilding the Louis Armstrong Stadium along with a raft of other changes.

The new 14,000-seater stadium was reopened for the start of the 2018 US Open and will play more matches than the number one court in the arena the Arthur Ashe Stadium. It is the world’s first naturally ventilated stadium with a retractable roof.

Stephens had a number of complaints after her first round match against Russian Evgeniya Rodina, whom she dispatched with relative ease in straight sets on Monday. She was hoping to play at the Ashe Stadium, where she won her maiden Grand Slam title in 2017.

“Obviously playing on a court that’s very loud, there’s a lot going on. I think it makes it a little tough to kind of settle down,” Stephens said, as quoted on news.com.au. “I was happy I was able to kind of find a rhythm.”

She was also not happy about the placement of the concession stalls and the movement of fans in-between games. They are only allowed to move around during change overs.

“There was a lot going on between the airplanes and the subway behind the court, the concessions being in the lower bowl, and people walking in the games at two-all, three-all,” the American number three seed added.

Stephens was also not happy with the 25-second shot clock that was introduced for the first time at a Grand Slam suggesting she now has one added thing to keep her mind on rather than just focus on the game.

With Louis Armstrong set to hold more matches than Arthur Ashe this year, she is certain she will again be scheduled to play at the stadium again. But this time she is hoping to be better prepared.

“I got so much going on on the court, I’m trying to manage like eight different things,” she said. “I’ll probably play another match on Armstrong, knowing the USTA. I got to get my mind right and get ready for it.”

Stephens will play 21-year-old Ukranian Anhelina Kalinina in the second round and if she wins the American could face two time finalist Victoria Azarenka, who is playing the US Open for the first time since giving birth to her son in 2016.

The top-half of the women’s singles draw was blown wide open on the opening day of the tournament after world number one and top seed Simona Halep was knocked out by Kaia Kanepi.

Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams are also in the top-half and could face each other in the third round if they win their respective second round matches.