French Open 2023: Sloane Stephens says abuse of tennis players is getting worse

Sloane Stephens has reached the quarter-finals 3 times astatine Roland Garros, including successful 2018 erstwhile she was runner-up

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens says the maltreatment of tennis players is getting "worse" and attempts to thwart it marque small difference.

The exertion aims to filter retired maltreatment connected platforms similar Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

"It's been a occupation my full career," American Stephens said aft her first-round triumph astatine Roland Garros.

"It has ne'er stopped. If anything, it's lone gotten worse.

"I did perceive astir the software. I person not utilized it. I person a batch of cardinal words banned connected Instagram and each of these things, but that doesn't halt idiosyncratic from conscionable typing successful an asterisk oregon typing it successful a antithetic way, which evidently bundle astir of the clip doesn't catch."

The French Open is the archetypal of the 4 Grand Slams to present specified a scheme, with French Tennis Federation CEO Caroline Flaissier saying players' intelligence wellness is simply a "priority for Roland Garros".

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Stephens showed wherefore she is among the tournament's astir unsafe unseeded players aft beating Czech 16th effect and two-time Grand Slam finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-4 successful an eye-catching first-round encounter.

Runner-up successful Paris successful 2018, Stephens was not ranked precocious capable to beryllium seeded erstwhile the gully was made past week but is present 30th, which would person been capable for a seeding.

Her emergence up the rankings came amid improving signifier connected clay, with the 30-year-old winning the WTA 125 rubric successful San-Malo earlier successful May and reaching the semi-finals successful Morocco past week.

Stephens volition look Russian Varvara Gracheva successful the 2nd round.

Svitolina urges radical to 'focus connected helping Ukraine'

Elina Svitolina has reached the French Open quarter-finals 3 times

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina says she has recovered "a batch of rubbish" being spoken connected the tennis circuit astir Russia's penetration of Ukraine since returning from maternity leave.

Former satellite fig 3 Svitolina, playing successful her archetypal large since Russia launched the onslaught connected Ukraine past year, won 6-2 6-2 against Italian 26th effect Martina Trevisan connected her Grand Slam comeback astatine Roland Garros.

On Sunday, Ukrainian subordinate Marta Kostyuk was booed successful Paris for not shaking the hand of Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, whose state has supported Russia's war.

Russian and Belarusian players person continued to vie connected the ATP and WTA tours arsenic neutral athletes, without a flag, since the penetration successful February 2022.

Svitolina urged radical to "focus connected helping Ukrainians" successful her post-match media conference.

"We are missing the main constituent that radical present astatine this time, they request assistance arsenic ne'er before," she said.

Becoming progressively upset arsenic she spoke, the 28-year-old added: "The main constituent is to assistance kids, to assistance women who mislaid their husbands due to the fact that they are warring for Ukraine.

"The kids, they're losing their parents, they're losing parts of their body.

"We are missing the main constituent of each of that and talking, talking, talking astir nothing. Empty, wholly bare words. It is not helping anything."

Svitolina won her 17th WTA rubric - and archetypal since becoming a parent - successful Strasbourg connected Saturday and volition donate her prize wealth from the lawsuit to assistance Ukrainian children.

Asked if she would donate her Roland Garros winnings, she said: "I volition spot what are the possibilities and what are the needs of the cities.

"For example, successful Odessa, my hometown, oregon successful Kharkiv oregon Kyiv, we volition spot what are the urgent needs, and I'll donate this wealth there."

What other happened successful the women's gully connected time two?

Stephens' US compatriot Madison Keys also precocious to the 2nd circular with a 6-1 3-6 6-1 triumph against Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, portion 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia bushed Czech teen Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2 6-2.

There was a daze decision for 12th effect Belinda Bencic of Switzerland arsenic she mislaid 6-3 2-6 6-4 to Russian fortunate loser Elina Avanesyan.

French 5th effect Caroline Garcia survived a second-set wobble to bushed China's Wang Xiyu 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4, portion 14th effect Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil thrashed Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-0 6-1.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko are besides successful enactment aboriginal connected Monday.

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