Sloane Stephens Shares Photos of Threatening Messages on IG After US Open Loss

Sloane Stephens shared racist, sexist and threatening messages she received following her third-round loss to Angelique Kerber at the U.S. Open on Friday night. 

On her Instagram story, Stephens said she received more than 2,000 messages of "abuse/anger from people upset by yesterday's result" and posted a few of them (warning: contains graphic language):

"This isn't talked about enough, but it really freaking sucks," Stephens wrote on the post. 

Friday's match lasted nearly two hours, with Kerber winning the final two sets 6-2, 6-3 after Stephens took the opener 7-5.

The 28-year-old has had a tumultuous year. On Jan. 14, she announced her grandmother and aunt died from COVID-19 within two weeks of each other. She announced Jan. 19 her grandfather died but didn't specify his cause of death.

At the time of her grandfather's death, Stephens was in Australia in quarantine to prepare for the Australian Open. She played in the tournament, losing her first-round match to Yulia Putintseva. 

Stephens wrote toward the end of her post Saturday that she was "choosing positive vibes over negative ones."

"Disappointing loss yesterday, but I'm heading in the right direction. 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," she wrote on Instagram.