NEW YORK — After her disappointing US Open defeat at the hands of Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu in straight sets, Shelby Rogers said she’s now going to have to deal with “nine million death threats” on her social media accounts from strangers who are unhappy with her loss.
Talking about the spotlight she has been under after her massive third-round win against world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Rogers said she wished “social media didn’t exist.”
“Obviously we appreciate the spotlight in those moments, but then you have today and I’m going to have nine million death threats and whatnot,” she said at the post-match news conference. “It’s very much polarizing, one extreme to the other very quickly.”
Rogers said that while she doesn’t like social media, it’s a big part of marketing right now and she has to post certain things.
“You could probably go through my profile right now — I’m probably a ‘fat pig’ and words that I can’t say right now,” Rogers said. “But, it is what it is. You try not to take it to heart, and it’s the unfortunate side of any sport and what we do.”
She said she didn’t want to pay attention to comments from people posting about her from their parents’ basement, but it “does get to your head sometimes.”
“Social media can’t control what I’m doing and the way my training is going to go moving forward, but I wish it didn’t exist. It’s really tough.”
Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens also opened up about receiving abusive and harassing messages on Instagram after her third-round loss against Angelique Kerber, calling it “exhausting and never-ending.”