Stephens into Australian Open, 1st Slam in a year

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Sloane Stephens has qualified for the Australian Open, her first major tournament since a first-round loss to top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at Melbourne Park a year ago.

The 2017 U.S. Open champion entered the qualifying rounds for the season's first Grand Slam event with a ranking of No. 1,097 after a long stretch recovering from a left foot injury.

She has put together three straight wins in qualifying at Melbourne Park, beating Lucia Bronzetti of Italy 6-1, 7-5 in the third round on Thursday to secure her place in the main draw.

The 32-year-old American reached a career-high ranking of No. 3.