The 2017 US Open victory came at a price for Sloane Stephens. The American player gave her absolute best on the court, but that did not make her immune from people’s scrutiny. However, people went to the extent of bullying her grandparents to get at her. She narrated the horrible experience and how getting online hatred became a normal part of her life.

Stephens kept her form resolute and played well on the court, however, could not clinch another grand slam title. And this prompted people to condemn her and spread online hate.

Sloane Stephens details the extremes of bullying she had to face

With the increasing influence of social media sites, the players have had to face a lot of scrutiny from the masses. Earlier the media was restricted, however, now it is very accessible and people have misused it a lot too. Stephens, after her victory at the 2017 US Open, became an overnight star.

This brought a huge amount of scrutiny from the people too. And she detailed how people will flood in hateful messages and comments after her each game. She said in a podcast, “Nobody really knows the extent of what these people go to send you messages and send you hate mail…”.

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Former US Open champion detailed the obsessive behaviors of haters who even got hold of her grandparents. She said, “When my grandparents were still alive, they used to send mail to my grandparents’ house. And I am like, ‘how do they even find my grandparents?’ It’s so bizarre.” 

Similarities between Stephens and Emma Raducanu

Both champions were underdogs. Nobody saw their victory coming. However, they proved their worth on the court by winning the major. Stephens got highly criticized for her subsequent performance after her victory at the US Open in 2017. Similarly, Raducanu has had to face a lot of scrutiny from the masses who have criticized her for her poor performance after her victory at the 2021 US Open.

Raducanu and Stephens both won the hard-court major due to their skills and training and fans hope to see both players win more grand slam titles.

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