NEW YORK – Sloane Stephens spoke Saturday about online abuse and harassment on her Instagram account, saying “this kind of hatred is so exhausting and it never ends.”
Stephens, who lost a three-set battle against Angelique Kerber on Friday after winning the first set, shared in her Instagram stories that angry strangers sent more than 2,000 abusive messages to her Instagram account because they were “ upset by yesterday’s result “.
“It’s so hard to read messages like these,” Stephens wrote, sharing examples of some of the messages he received.
Comments ranged from evil curse words to abusing her for posting photos of herself. A message threatened physical harm and said she should be banned from tennis and imprisoned.
“There’s not enough talk about it, but it’s really a baffling thing,” Stephens wrote.
He ended the series of posts with a positive note, sharing encouraging messages he received and expressing the happiness of having a strong support system.
“I’m choosing positive over negative vibrations,” Stephens wrote. “I decide to show them the happiness of these guys, but they’re not always smiles and roses.”