28 August 2023 , 22:55
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A fan at the US Open appeared to order food through the popular website DoorDash during 2017 Grand Slam winner Sloane Stephens' match with Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The peckish fan was seen on video making his way back up to his seat with the bag of food, where he was greeted by a friend, much to the confusion of fellow spectators around them.
Florida-born Stephens, 30, was seen looking into the stands before regaining focus to continue the match. However, some viewers believe that it was a prank, with many questioning how the DoorDash would have been delivered without a ticket to the match.
"Not funny actually. They are competitive athletes. Is it funny to you because they are women and disrespect is acceptable?" one US Open viewer said, reacting to the video. "Wondering how this kid got in the stadium and if the customer bought his ticket," another added.
Stephens did manage to regain focus, winning three of the four games that followed the fan's return with food, claiming the second set to send the game the full distance. But the third and final set didn't go to plan, with the home favourite losing 6-4 to hand Haddad Maia a two sets to one victory.
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The first-round exit for Stephens was her joint-worst Grand Slam finish in 2023. Stephens also crashed out in the first round Down Under at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
Her performance at the French Open was considerably better, though, reaching the fourth round, as well as the second round of Wimbledon.
The incident took place during Sloane Stephens' first-round defeat (Getty)Stephens was one of four Americans to crash out in the first round on Monday. Clervie Ngounoue, Emma Navarro, and Katie Volynets also lost, while Jennifer Brady, Danielle Collins, Bernarda Pera, Lauren Davis, and Taylor Townsend all made it through.
Kayla Day and Coco Gauff will also play on Monday night. The latter comes into the tournament off the back of a win at the Cincinnati Masters, where she beat Iga Swiatek in the final.
Gauff, 19, says she's in a good place heading into the matchup against Laura Siegemund. On what's clicked, she said: "I think just confidence and trusting myself. I think I trust the work that I've done in practice. I hope that I can continue to translate that into matches.”