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.

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.

[2][5] 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.

[6] 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.

[7] Next, she defeated fellow wildcard player Mirjam Björklund to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, where she lost to Katie Volynets in straight sets.

[2][10] Stearns reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the Copa Colsanitas, after defeating Rosa Vicens Mas, Elina Avanesyan, Tamara Zidanšek and Kamilla Rakhimova.

[11] 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.

[17] On her debut in the main draw at the Miami Open, she also reached the second round with a win over Wang Yafan[18] before losing to Victoria Azarenka.

[33][34] She lost in the third round to 12th seed Mirra Andreeva in a match played later on the same day as her encounter with Zheng due to rain interruptions setting the tournament schedule back.