Is Sloane Stephens' Breakout Season Finally Here?

Sloane Stephens heads into Indian Wells as one of the hottest players on the WTA Tour. Could her long-awaited breakout season finally be here?

If you're thinking it came and went in 2013, think again. That was the year a then-19-year-old Stephens upset Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. That year, Stephens reached a career-high No. 11 ranking and was declared tennis' next big thing. 

That declaration was a bit premature. The following year Stephens went on a Melanie Oudin-like skid in the rankings.

This run seems different. 

After two years of struggling to find her game, Stephens is making a bigger splash in smaller tournaments. She defeated Dominika Cibulkova at the Mexican Open to win a second title this year and the third of her career. She is 11-1 this season. 

Stephens is also more consistent and resilient. Instead of folding in matches, she's coming back to win. After going so long without a WTA title, she's 3-0 in tournament finals.

Her win over Cibulkova came in a three-set thriller that ended in a tiebreaker. After the victory, an exuberant Stephens talked about her season so far. 

"We had a great week and a great start to the year, and I'm looking forward to keeping it going," she said in Acapulco, Mexico, per WTA.com. 

Her only loss this year came in the first round of the Australian Open. Qualifier Wang Qiang upset Stephens 6-3, 6-3. It was a shocking result because Stephens had recently won the title in Auckland, New Zealand. 

After losing in the first round of the Australian Open, she told ESPN.com's Peter Bodo: "I'm disappointed that I lost here, but if I play until I'm 35, I have plenty more Grand Slams to go. So I just have to look past it."

"Stephens is just 23," Bodo wrote. "She can afford to be flip about a loss." 

Being flippant and nonchalant has been the hallmark of Stephens' demeanor on and off the court. Two years ago, Tennis Channel commentator Mary Carillo questioned Stephens' commitment during a telecast of a match against Caroline Wozniacki at the Sony (Miami) Open.

Wozniacki defeated Stephens in 55 minutes. During the match, Stephens appeared indifferent to unforced errors and dismissive about her poor play.

Courtney Nguyen, then a tennis writer for SI.com, tweeted Carillo's comments (see above). Others chimed in, including Tennis.com, which called Stephens' play "a candidate for worst performance of the year."  

Soon, she began to fade as Madison Keys replaced her as the next great American player. It was Keys grabbing the headlines in the 2015 Australian Open after reaching the semifinals against Serena. 

Meanwhile, Stephens went through a series of high-profile coaches, including Nick Saviano, Paul Annacone (coach of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer) and Thomas Hogstedt (former coach of Maria Sharapova and Wozniacki). 

Now coached by Kamau Murray, Stephens appears more grounded and determined. Winning her first title (the Citi Open last year) appears to have lifted the dark cloud that had previously rained down the sentiment that she was talented but not championship material. 

Last month, she helped the U.S. in a Fed Cup win over Poland. Three years ago, she was essentially benched for poor performance in Fed Cup play against Sweden.

Although she's still chatty and catty at times, Stephens has certainly elevated her game. 

Now, she can stroll into Indian Wells with confidence. She has a better record than any player in the Top 10.  

Although she's still ranked outside the Top 20, the upper tier is far less daunting this year. Serena is vulnerable, even in Grand Slams. Sharapova is recovering from injury. Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep have losing records this season. 

For Stephens, a run to the Top 10 is just waiting to happen. Finally, this could be her year.