Sloane Stephens suffers abuse on social media after U.S. Open loss
American says she received more than 2,000 messages of abuse and anger
Sloane Stephens shared Saturday some of the abusive messages she received following her third-round U.S. Open loss, notes filled with sexist, racist and vile language.
"I am human, after last night's match I got 2k + messages of abuse/anger from people upset by yesterday's result," she started her Instagram story.
"It's so hard to read messages like these, but I'll post a few so you guys can see what it's like after a loss..."
In one of the messages she shared, the sender lashed out at her for not winning after taking a lead against German Angelique Kerber — the No. 15 seed, who won 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 — and wished an act of sexual violence would be committed against her.
In another, the writer accused her of match fixing.
"I promise to find you and destroy your leg so hard that you can't walk anymore," the message read and added the writer's hope that Stephens wind up in jail.
'This isn't talked about enough'
Stephens defeated fellow Americans Madison Keys and Coco Gauff in the first two rounds.
"This isn't talked about enough, but it really freaking sucks," Stephens, 28, wrote on her Instagram story.
The winner of the 2017 U.S. Open, Stephens added a positive message on Instagram.
"Disappointing loss yesterday, but I'm heading in the right direction," she wrote. "Honestly, so much to be proud of! Been fighting battles all year and haven't backed down yet. Never stop fighting! You win or you learn, but you never lose."
