US Open champion Sloane Stephens says racism against athletes has 'only gotten worse'
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Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, says athletes continue to deal with racial remarks.
In fact, the 30-year-old who turned pro in 2009, says it's the worst it's ever been.
"Yes, it's obviously been a problem my entire career. It has never stopped. If anything, it's only gotten worse," she said on Monday.
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Sloane Stephens of USA plays a backhand against Karolina Pliskova of Czech during their First Round Match on Day Two of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2023 in Paris, France. (Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
An artificial intelligence software has been implemented for players at the French Open in order to eliminate some comments, but Stephens says it has not worked as originally planned.
Stephens noted that users can censor their slurs with an asterisk, but the message remains.
"I did hear about the software. I have not used it," she said, via USA Today. "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."
Sloane Stephens of The United States plays a backhand in her women's singles second round match against Victoria Azarenka during day four of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023 at Foro Italico on May 11, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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Stephens did not note specific instances, but hinted that she's had "serious" threats against