TENNIS PLAYERS (Off-Court Shenanigans)

[Owendonovan]

I think people experience homophobia, racism, otherism, or misogyny in myriad ways. For instance, if you called me a f@*got, that's a call to arms, for me. Expect something back from me, be it verbal or physical, you're not getting away with calling me that. My husband on the other hand would just walk away. For some reason I am much more sensitive to that word than he is, so we therefore react differently. Some people hear racism very loudly, some don't.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

Tennis Star Sloane Stephens and Husband Jozy Altidore to Divorce After 4 Years of Marriage
By Miranda Siwak
February 21, 2026


Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images

Tennis star Sloane Stephens and her husband, Jozy Altidore, have called it quits after four years of marriage.

“Jozy and I have decided to end our marriage,” Stephens, 32, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Saturday, February 21. “With peace, I am navigating this transition with mutual respect and kindly ask for privacy during this time.”

She continued, “Thank you for your love, understanding and continued support.”

Altidore, 36, has not publicly addressed the pair’s breakup. Us Weekly has reached out to a rep for the retired soccer star for comment.

Stephens and Altidore had been together since 2016, when they reconnected years after attending the same school in Florida together.

“I was doing a media scrum in the hallway during a US Men’s National team camp,” Altidore told Vogue in 2022. “Sloane was there training for Fed Cup in Hawaii. Sloane turned the corner while having a loud conversation on FaceTime. We locked eyes and started talking during the scrum. We exchanged contacts and went to dinner after my game versus Iceland. The rest was history.”

Altidore popped the question in 2019 after four years of dating.


Courtesy of Sloane Stephens/ Instagram

“Jozy was acting nervous, and he’s definitely not an art gallery kind of guy,” Stephens recalled to Vogue. “When we walked in and I saw everyone, I was completely blown away. It was so surreal when he got down on one knee.”

Stephens and Altidore exchanged vows on New Year’s Day in 2022 at the St. Regis in Bal Harbour, Florida.

“I really liked the symbolism of starting a new year completely fresh with a new beginning,” she told the outlet at the time. “I fly to Australia to start my season soon, so this is what needed to happen.”

Stephens continued, “Our training and season schedules are so intense that planning a wedding seemed like a logistical nightmare, but the pandemic really shifted everything for us. The last two years have been incredibly tough for everyone, including my family with the loss of my grandparents and close family friends due to COVID-19, and it reminded us how nothing is guaranteed, so we have to celebrate and cherish the time we have together.”

Altidore later opened up about how their marriage affected his own athletic career.

“I’m a free agent right now, so I’m in a bit of an unknown area,” Altidore said on CBS Sports’ “Kickin’ It” series in October 2023. “I just think [choosing a team] has to make sense for me at this point in my life. A lot goes into it now [with] going the family over. Before it was just me, pick up and go.”

The soccer player, who retired later in 2023, further revealed how marriage changed his life.

“She’s done a lot of good things for me,” Altidore said. “We met up in 2016, reupped again and had a lot of good years together on the field, off the field. It’s been cool having somebody like that [who’s] always on it, makes you have to be always on it and change your mindset every day. [It’s] definitely been a plus to have.”


https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-ne ... o-divorce/

[ponchi101]

I have always wondered. If you want people to respect your privacy, why make the public announcement?

[ptmcmahon]

I have always wondered. If you want people to respect your privacy, why make the public announcement?

Well, the news is probably going to get out anyway... this is probably to try to "get ahead of it" - one announcement will cause less news than weeks of speculating and rumors.

[ponchi101]

Not putting you on here. Serious question.
If you and your future ex both are in amicable terms, you will treat each other with respect, you can tell your family not to speak up (and Sloane's family always have been very reserved), and you tell your lawyers not to say anything, the chances that this remains private are reasonable.
And it is not as if Sloane has been a media magnet throughout her career.
How would this come out, if you play it silently.

[ptmcmahon]

It would come out as soon as reporters see they aren't living together, or they date anybody else for example. It may even be worse then if it just came out as a rumor which would create additional headlines.

I don't think for two celebrities that it is reasonable to assume it stays private. Maybe your family and lawyers agree to keep it secret, but then a neighbor, reporter, etc sees something and it comes out. I just see it as avoiding that... controlling the news release all at once and trying to minimize the noise.