Sloane Stephens Says Racist Comments from Tennis Fans Have 'Only Gotten Worse' Over Her Career

Following her first-round victory at the French Open on Monday, the 2017 US Open champion spoke out about being the target of social media harassment

Sloane Stephens is speaking out about racist comments that she says she’s dealt with over the course of her “entire career.”

After a first-round, straight-sets victory against Karolina Pliskova at the French Open on Monday, the 30-year-old tennis star shared with reporters that she has seen the incidence of such hateful comments increase over the years.

"Yes, it's obviously been a problem my entire career," Stephens, who is ranked 30th in the world, said according to Reuters. "It has never stopped. If anything, it's only gotten worse."

The tennis star also pointed to incidents of racism that have resulted in an ongoing criminal investigation, though she did not specify if she was referring to herself or other athletes.

"I mean, obviously when there is FBI investigations going on with what people are saying to you online, it's very serious," she said.

Stephens' comments come on the heels of the tournament’s announcement last week that it would utilize a French company’s technology to monitor cyberbullying and harassment directed at athletes via social media, according to the Associated Press.

Stephens said that she had heard about the cyberbullying software, and added that she's used other technology to limit the vitriol she receives on social media, but often finds it ineffective.

"I did hear about the software. I have not used it," she said. "I have a lot of obviously key words banned on Instagram and all of these things, but that doesn't stop someone from just typing in an asterisk or typing it in a different way, which obviously software most of the time doesn't catch."

Related: Sloane Stephens Reflects on Her 'Dark' Times, Says Athletes Could 'Do Better to Support Each Other'

Over the years, the 2017 US Open champ has not been afraid to share her perspective — and her own mental health journey — while navigating the spotlight.

"I've been in a place where it's been dark and it's been deep and it's been sad,” Stephens told PEOPLE in August 2021. I'm like, 'I need to get out of that place.' But you know you're stuck there if you don't talk to anyone and no one knows what you're going through."

The tennis champion continued, "I think that younger athletes are not told enough that 'It's okay to be sad, it's okay to be happy, it's okay to show your emotion.' And no one I feel like in the sports industry is comforting in that. It's always like 'This decision, this moment it's going to affect you for the rest of your life.' That's the type of pressure people feel and they pretend to be okay. You end up in a space or a position where you just don't feel good and you don't feel good mentally and you don't feel good physically. Then you can't perform."

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