American tennis player Sloane Stephens has become the latest prominent athlete to share the personal burden of what she said were the relentless and “exhausting” attacks she receives on social media.
“I am human,” Stephens said on Instagram a day after being inundated by more than 2,000 “messages of abuse/anger” following a third-round loss to Germany’s Angelique Kerber at the US Open.
“It’s so hard to read messages like these, but I’ll post a few so you guys can see what it’s like,” said Stephens, who voiced her concerns just as a number of other Black female athletes have also recently spoken out about the mental health toll high-pressure sports can take.