Racist Abuse Toward Athletes Has ‘Only Gotten Worse’

American tennis star Sloane Stephens said Monday at the French Open that racist abuse of athletes has “only gotten worse” throughout her career.

When asked about the subject after her straight-sets win over 16th-seeded Karolína Plíšková in the first round of the 2023 French Open in Paris, Stephens said the following, per Reuters:

“Obviously it’s been something that I have dealt with my whole career. I think that, like I said, it’s only continued to get worse, and people online have the free rein to say and do whatever they want behind fake pages, which is obviously very troublesome.

“It’s something I have had to deal with my whole career and something I will continue to deal with, I’m sure. That’s that.”

The topic of racism against athletes was mentioned in relation to software introduced at the French Open that can be utilized by players in an effort to block racist comments on social media.

Stephens, who is Black, noted that while she has not used the software, she doesn’t necessarily believe it can fully prevent racist messages from getting through to the athletes:

“I did hear about the software. I have not used it. 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.”

The 30-year-old Stephens, who is the 30th-ranked player in the world, is one of the most successful Black women’s tennis players of all time.

Following in the footsteps of Venus and Serena Williams, Stephens is a two-time Grand Slam singles finalist, winning the U.S. Open in 2017.

Venus and Serena, who combined to win 30 Grand Slam singles titles during their illustrious careers, dealt with racism often over the years. Perhaps the most glaring example occurred at the Indian Wells Masters in Indian Wells, California, in 2001.

Serena wrote in her book that fans mercilessly booed both sisters and hurled racial slurs at them after Venus withdrew from their semifinal match against each other. As a result, they did not compete in the tournament for 14 years.

Also, when four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka, who identifies as Black and Asian, was punished for not speaking to the media at the 2021 French Open, it led to discussion regarding whether her race played a role in her treatment.

With both Williams sisters essentially out of tennis and Osaka out due to her pregnancy, Stephens and sixth-ranked Coco Gauff are the highest-profile Black female tennis players in the world, and they are having to navigate many of the same challenges as their predecessors.