Shelby Rogers Expecting ‘Death Threats’ Following US Open Loss - UBITENNIS
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Shelby Rogers Expecting ‘Death Threats’ Following US Open Loss

The tennis star says receiving social media abuse online has become a norm in what she calls ‘the unfortunate side of the sport.’

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Shelby Rogers hits a forehand during a Women's Singles match at the 2021 US Open, Monday, Sep. 6, 2021 in Flushing, NY. (Darren Carroll/USTA)

America’s Shelby Rogers says she will likely receive a torrent of abuse on social media following her fourth round loss to Emma Raducanu at the US Open on Monday.

 

The world No.43 is the latest player to speak out about the issue which she has experienced multiple times before. Speaking to reporters after her match, Rogers joked that she will get ‘nine million death threats’ and wishes that social media didn’t exist.

Obviously we appreciate the spotlight in those moments,” Rogers said in her post-match news conference.
“But then you have today and I’m going to have nine million death threats and whatnot. It’s very much polarising, one extreme to the other very quickly.
“At this point in my career, I’d say I’m used to it. I kind of wish social media didn’t exist.
“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 is not the first player to speak out about the issue with Sloane Stephens saying she received 2000 hate messages following her third round loss to Angelique Kerber at the US Open. In an Instagram story, the former Grand Slam winner posted screenshots of the abuse she has been receiving with many of them being racist.

Whilst there is a serious issue with online abuse, Rogers admits that social media is part of the job role due to its ability to connect the sport with fans around the world.

“It’s part of marketing now, we have contracts, we have to post certain things. It is what it is. You try not to take it to heart, and it’s the unfortunate side of any sport,” she said.
“You know, just focus on the important things, not comments from people in their mum’s basement.
“It’s really unfortunate and some of it does get to your head sometimes.”

The topic of tackling online abuse has been a growing issue for tennis in recent years, as well as other sports such as football. Reuters News Agency has been told by the WTA that the number of players receiving abuse online is on the rise and they are currently working with social media companies to address the issue. The WTA is also working with Theseus who is a risk assessment and management company that specialises in support for athletes if they encounter online harassment.

“Theseus and the WTA work with the social media platforms to shut down accounts when warranted, and if applicable, local authorities are notified,” the governing body of women’s tennis said in a statement.

In August 2020 a BBC Sport survey found 30% of elite British sportswomen have suffered from online trolling. The findings were based on a sample of 537 athletes from 39 different sports, including tennis.

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Alexander Zverev beats Roman Safiulin to to claim his second title of the year in Chengdu

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Alexander Zverev came back from a set and a break down to beat Roman Safiulin 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 at the Chengdu Open claiming the 21st title of his career. 

 

Zverev has moved to seventh seventh in the ATP Race to Turin boosting his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. 

Safiulin  saved three break points in the 10th game of the first set, which went on serve en route to the tie-break. Safiulin earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3. 

Safiulin earned an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Zverev broke straight back and forced the second set  to a second tie-break. Zverev went up a mini-break three times, but Safiulin pulled back on serve each time. Zverev was two points from defeat at 5-5 in the tie-break of the second set but he won the final two points to win the second set. 

Zverev earned the decisive break in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead and closed out the win on his first match point. 

Zverev won his second title of the season after his triumph in home city Hamburg last July. “He is playing the best tennis of his life for sure. The way he was winning this week. I think he beat a lot of great players quite easily, so I think that he was playing well. Obviously, I am happy to be able to come back and to win this title”, said Zverev. 

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Daria Kasatkina beats Marta Kostyuk to advance to the second round in Tokyo

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Daria Kasatkina came back from one set down to beat Marta Kostyuk 3-6 6-4 6-3 in 2 hours and 24 minutes reaching the second round at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. 

 

Katatkina is playing her first tournament since the US Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round. 

Kasatkina set up a second round match against Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail, who beat Japanese lucky loser Sakura Hosogi 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in 2 hours and 19 minutes. 

Kostyuk dropped just eight points on serve and broke serve in the fourth game to close out the first set 6-3. The second set featured nine service breaks in ten games. Kostyuk went up a break three times, but Kasatkina pulled back on serve each time. Kasatkina broke in the eighth and tenth games to seal the second set 6-4. 

Kostyuk went up a break twice in the third set, but she was broken back both times. Kasatkina drew level to 3-3, as Kostyuk made a overhead error, and won the final four games to seal the third set 6-4. 

Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova cruised past Donna Vekic 6-1 6-1 in just 74 minutes. Nineteen-year-old Linda Noskova saved one set point to beat Japanese lucky loser Himeno Sakatsume 6-2 7-5 setting up a second round against Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova. 

Ekaterina Aleksandrova came back from one set down to beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 7-5 in 2 hours and 21 minutes setting up a second round against Liudmila Samsonova. 

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Eight of the top 10 players in the line-up in Beijing

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The China Open, an ATP 500 hard-court tournament, is taking place for the first time since 2019 after a long break due to covid-19. 

 

Eight of the top 10 players in the ATP Ranking are lining up in the Chinese capital. Carlos Alcaraz will face a qualifier in the first round before a clash against either Karen Khachanov or Lorenzo Musetti in the second round. Alcaraz won six titles this year in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Queen’s and Wimbledon during a successful 2023 season. 

The Spanish player could face a quarter final against Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud. The Norwegian player will play against Jan-Lennard Struff, who made his come-back from injury last week in Zhuhai. The German player finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid and to Frances Tiafoe in Stuttgart in his two finals earlier this year. 

Holger Rune has been drawn in the top draw and could meet Jannik Sinner, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto and reached the semifinal at Wimbledon. Sinner will face Dan Evans, who won the Washington Open last August. Rune, who is currently ranked eighth in the ATP Race to Turin, beat Sinner in the semifinal in Monte-Carlo. The Danish player will face Felix Auger Aliassime in the first round. 

Alexander Zverev will start his campaign against Diego Schwartzman in the first round and is seeded to face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who meets Nicolas Jarry. Zverev won his first title of the season in Hamburg and reached the semifinal in Cincinnati and the quarter final at the US Open. 

Andrey Rublev will take on Cameron Norrie in the bottom half. 

Chinese Next Gen player Shang Juncheng will play against Yoshihito Nishioka in an all Asian first round clash. Shang reached the quarter finals in Washington and Atlanta. 

The most interesting first round matches are: Andy Murray vs Alex De Minaur (Masters 1000 finalist in Toronto) and US Open finalist Danil Medvedev vs Tommy Paul. Murray could face Danil Medvedev in the second round. 

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