Connecticut women's tennis player Mary Stoiana hoping to become fixture on WTA Tour
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Mary Stoiana stood underneath the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship on Sept. 1 and took it all in. It was just Stoiana and her opponent before their opening round match in the final Grand Slam event of the calendar year.
For Stoiana, it was her first appearance in a Grand Slam event, playing 90 minutes from where she grew up in Southbury. She was about to face Alexandra Eala, the No. 17 seed in the draw on one of the show courts in Flushing Meadows, New York.
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"A dream come true, the beginning of my journey," said Stoiana in a telephone interview from Brazil. "Just me and my opponent 5 feet from me. We both have headphones on, jogging in place. … I go out first, the bright lights flashing, my face and name are on the screen. I tried not to look up. I tried to keep my eyes forward. I could hear the cheers, a huge eruption. It was cool to be in an atmosphere like that."
It didn't go as Stoiana hoped: she lost to Eala in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. But it still was an experience she will never forget. Nor will she forget how she got there: winning three qualifying-round matches just to get into the main draw.
"(My family) was so proud and happy to see me in an environment like that," Stoiana said. "Definitely just an experience to have under my belt, to be in the main draw of a Grand Slam."
It was the first time in four attempts that Stoiana, 23, qualified for the U.S. Open. She tried while still dominating at Texas A&M, where she went 138-20, earning Player of the Year honors for the Southeastern Conference twice.
Stoiana mainly plays WTA events. She still plays ITF events, winning two of them last year. Depending on the level of the WTA event Stoiana can get in the main draw based on her current singles ranking of 122.
But she sometimes still has to qualify, like she did last month for the Cincinnati Open, winning two qualifying matches. She lost in the first round of the main draw. Stoiana said a ranking of 105 or better should be good enough to avoid qualifying.
It's a quick turnaround for Stoiana. Wheels up to Colombia for the Kiah Open, a WTA event last week. She reached the second round and had a match point before falling. This week, Stoaina is in Brazil competing in the SP Open.
Stoiana, who attended Pomperaug for two years but did not play high school tennis, noted that her tournament schedule the remainder of the year includes tournaments in California, Japan and Hong Kong. Her tournament schedule should continue through the beginning of November.
It's a big adjustment for a professional tennis player. It's usually just her and her coach, Francisco Vittar, on the road.
"It has been an adjustment coming from college, always with teammates," Stoiana said. "You see other pros who have five people (in their entourage). Maybe it's less lonely. It's more difficult than people realize. You deal with ups and downs, go back to your room and it's just you."
The constant travel is an adjustment, too.
"Oh yeah, you are in a new hotel room every couple weeks," Stoiana said. "It makes sleeping interesting sometimes. It's a different bed, a different pillow. … Nobody really understands your journey other than you."
It is a significant change in lifestyle for sure. In fact, Stoiana said "you don't have a life outside of tennis." It's important to enjoy the lifestyle of a tennis player: the hours of training, the rehab, the strategy sessions, the matches themselves. It is rinse, repeat.
"You have to enjoy the lifestyle or the sacrifices will be painful," Stoiana said. "If you don't enjoy it. You will not survive the lifestyle."
Stoiana said she will celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. December is strictly a month of "training like a mad man" to get ready for the 2027 season. Just training, no tournaments.
Stoiana, who also lives in Orlando, Florida, said that after the intense training, she will travel to Australia to get ready for the Australian Open, the next Grand Slam event in January. She plans to travel there around in late December and play some prep tournaments to get ready.
"I love tennis and love competing," Stoiana said. "You have to be all in or you won't survive."
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