Peyton Mckenzie Stearns (born October 8, 2001) is an American tennis player. A former player at the University of Texas at Austin, Stearns turned professional in 2022. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as high as world No. 43 in singles and has also reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 151, achieved on 18 September 2023 and 21 August 2023, respectively.
In spring 2022, Stearns became the first Texas player to become the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in women's tennis and soon elected to turn professional later that year. In her first full season on tour in 2023, Stearns earned her top 100 debut in April after reaching her first WTA Tour quarterfinal at the inaugural ATX Open in March before going on to contend for her first WTA title at the Copa Colsanitas the following month. She has won five singles titles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Junior career
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.
Professional career
2021–2022: WTA Tour and Major 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: First WTA Tour final, Major fourth round, top 50
At the inaugural Texas Open, Stearns earned her first WTA 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 tournament in Indian Wells 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, 2021 French Open semifinalist 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.
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 beaten 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.
Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles
Current through the 2023 Washington Open.
Doubles
Current through the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
WTA career finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner–ups)
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Record against other players
Record against top 10 players
She has a 0–4 () record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.