Tennis player Stephens on racism: "If anything, it's only gotten worse"

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Sloane Stephens is world number 30.

Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP

Tennis player Sloane Stephens has denounced racism against athletes on the sidelines of the French Open. "It's been a problem throughout my career. It never stopped. If anything, it's only gotten worse," said the American after her opening win against Karolina Pliskova.

She didn't give any details, but said that even software like the one available to players at the French Open, which is designed to block racist comments, can't prevent it.

"Of course, I've banned a lot of keywords on Instagram and all these things, but that doesn't stop anyone from just typing in an asterisk or spelling it differently, which of course the software usually doesn't catch."

Software provided by the French Tennis Federation tries to detect and remove racist and other forms of hate speech at the French Open. With the help of artificial intelligence, the software filters out offensive comments on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. "I've heard about this software. I didn't use it," Stephens said.

Racism in sport is not uncommon

According to Stephens, racism has reached worrying levels. "I mean, if there's an FBI investigation that looks into what people are saying about you online, it's very serious," she said, without explaining if she was referring to a specific case.

"The fact that people can say and do whatever they want online behind fake sites is, of course, very problematic. That's something I've been dealing with my whole career and I'm sure I'll continue to be involved with," she continued.

Professional athletes are repeatedly the target of racist insults. Most recently, Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior was insulted with racist chants in Valencia. His complaints that Spain and the League are not doing enough to combat racism sparked a worldwide wave of support and a national debate in Spain. Tottenham Hotspur have been working with police this month to investigate allegations of racial slur against South Korean striker Son Heung-min.

ast/Reuters