Stephens building a new team Stephens also split with her longtime agent, John Tobias.
Stephens said she received more than 2,000 messages of abuse from people upset with the result.
Her first breakthrough, however, came two years later when she qualified at her first doubles final with Mallory Burdette at Grand Slam.
For the 24-year old, it was the first grand slam final which only took her 61 minutes to gain a 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Now 53, Groeneveld was co-creator and head of the adidas player development program.
For the season-ending championships in Singapore, and the early-season Australian swing, Stephens call upon Sylvester Black.