Tennis star Madison Keys' brave response to abuse

Madison Keys. Photo / Getty

Tennis star Madison Keys faced up for a tough press conference after she was bundled out of the Charleston Open in South Carolina, but it was nothing compared to her brave stand immediately after.

Keys has revealed a taste of the abuse she received when she was upset by fellow American Shelby Rogers in the second round of the event.

The results are horrifying.

The No. 1 seed has bravely published some of the abusive messages she was sent on Twitter following her surprise exit in a bid to make a stand against online trolling.

Keys, still on the recovery path from a wrist injury, struggled after taking the first set against Rogers and at one stage lost 11 straight games before falling 4-6 6-1 6-1.

Keys retweeted many of the messages to give fans a clear understanding of the abuse tennis stars on the WTA receive.

The WTA reported after Keys' series of responses that the 22-year-old had her reasons for standing up to the abuse.

The world No. 11 has signed up to be an ambassador for the Fearlessly Girl organisation, which runs school programs to empower young girls.

In case you’re wondering why @Madison_Keys RTs abusive tweets, read below. https://t.co/YSNxGuUGq4

— Courtney Nguyen (@FortyDeuceTwits) April 6, 2017

Keys said after her loss to Rogers that simply went away from her game plan.

"I mean, she was all over my serve today," Keys said.

"I felt like that let me down, and I think she served well. And I feel like I just stopped doing what I should have. I feel like I did a pretty good job to get back in the first set, and I feel like I just stopped doing it. Then it kind of all slipped away from me pretty quick."