Peyton Stearns

Peyton Mckenzie Stearns (born October 8, 2001) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the WTA as high as No. 43 in singles, achieved on 18 September 2023, and No. 87 in doubles, achieved on 4 March 2024. She has won one WTA Tour singles title, and five singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.

She played college tennis for the Texas Longhorns. In spring 2022, Stearns became the first Texas player to become the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in women's tennis and elected to turn professional later that year. In her first full season on tour in 2023, Stearns made her top 100 debut in April, after reaching her first WTA Tour quarterfinal at the inaugural ATX Open in March, before reaching her first career final at the Copa Colsanitas the following month.

College career
Stearns played two seasons of college tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, where she became the first Texas player to win the NCAA Division I Women's Singles National Championship in spring 2022. She has cited the success of fellow American Danielle Collins as inspiration for helping her decide to attend college before eventually turning professional, which she elected to do in June 2022.

2021–2022: WTA Tour & Grand Slam debuts
Stearns made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2021 Silicon Valley Classic, where she received entry as an alternate into the doubles main draw. She made her major debut as a wildcard at the 2022 US Open.

2023: WTA Tour final & top 50
At the inaugural ATX Open in Austin, Stearns earned her first WTA Tour win as a wildcard over qualifier Katie Boulter in a three-hour marathon. Next, she defeated fellow wildcard Mirjam Björklund to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, where she lost to Katie Volynets in straight sets. The following week, she made her main-draw debut at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open as a wildcard and overcame a set deficit to defeat Rebeka Masarova in the first round, before succumbing to Bianca Andreescu from a set up in the next round.

Stearns reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the Copa Colsanitas, after defeating Rosa Vicens Mas, Elina Avanesyan, Tamara Zidanšek and Kamilla Rakhimova. Though she fell in three sets to defending champion Tatjana Maria in the championship match, her results at the tournament propelled her into the top 100 for the first time, at world No. 89, on April 10. This also ensured Stearns a direct entry into the main draw of the 2023 French Open. Later that month, she reached the final of the $100k Charleston Pro, losing to compatriot Emma Navarro in three sets.

At the Morocco Open in Rabat, Stearns defeated Panna Udvardy and Leylah Fernandez to reach her third WTA Tour quarterfinal. She lost to Sloane Stephens in a third-set tiebreak, despite holding three match points.

Ranked world No. 69 at the French Open, Stearns recorded her first top-50 win, defeating No. 49 Kateřina Siniaková. She immediately followed that up with her first top-20 win, defeating former champion and 17th seed, Jeļena Ostapenko, in three sets. She was defeated by ninth seed Daria Kasatkina, in the third round.

At the US Open, she reached the fourth round defeating Viktoriya Tomova, Clara Tauson and Katie Boulter. As a result, she reached the top 50 at world No. 44 on 11 September 2023.

2024: Maiden career title, consecutive major third round
In Indian Wells, she recorded her second WTA 1000 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto. She held four match points against world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in the second round but lost the match in the third set tiebreak. On her debut in the main draw at the Miami Open, she also reached the second round recording her first win at this tournament over Wang Yafan.

She won her maiden career title in Rabat, Morocco, defeating Aleksandra Krunić, sixth seed Wang Xinyu, defending champion and fourth seed Lucia Bronzetti, Viktoriya Tomova, and Mayar Sherif in the final.

She reached for the second consecutive time the third round of a major at the French Open, with wins over first time Grand Slam qualifier Lucija Ćirić Bagarić in three sets, after missing five match points in the second set, and tenth seed Daria Kasatkina.

Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles
Current through the 2024 Palermo Ladies Open.

Doubles
Current through the 2024 Morocco Open.

Record against top 10 players

 * She has a 0–6 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.