TROLLS TARGET STEPHENS

AMERICAN tennis player Sloane Stephens has shared the personal burden of the “exhausting” attacks she receives on social media.

“I am human,” Sloane said on Instagram a day after being inundated by more than 2000 “messages of abuse/anger” following a third-round loss to Germany’s Angelique Kerber at the US Open.

“It’s so hard to read messages like these, but I’ll post a few so you guys can see what it’s like,” said Sloane, who voiced her concerns just as a number of other black female athletes have also recently spoken out about the mental health toll high-pressure sports can take.

One message read: “I promise to find you and destroy your leg so hard that you can’t walk anymore @sloanestephens!... ”

Sloane said: “This type of hate is so exhausting and never-ending.”