Caroline Garcia has called for action to be taken to deal with online abuse aimed at players after posting examples of messages she has received in recent weeks.
In a post on social media website X, the world No.30 has suggested that the sport shouldn’t promote betting companies as they can attract ‘new people to unhealthy betting.‘ There is a correlation between those betting on sports and hate messages sent to athletes. For example, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) estimates one in three of their high-profile athletes receive abusive messages from someone with a betting interest.
Garcia has posted screenshots of some of the abuse she has received online. Among those comments, are suggestions she should shoot herself, insults to her family and being called a ‘piece of S**t.’ She has broken her silence on the matter after losing in the first round of the US Open where she was knocked out of the draw by Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa.
“Tournaments and the sport keeps partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting,” she wrote.
“The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they should be banned as people are free todo whatever they want with their money. But maybe we should not promote them.
“Also, if someone decided to say these things to me in public, he could have legal issues. So why online we are free to do anything? Shouldn’t we reconsider anonymity online?”
The 30-year-old has also voiced concern about the impact such abuse could have on younger players. Both the WTA and ATP have launched online support tools aimed at addressing online abuse targeting professional tennis players. A similar system was also used at Wimbledon which relies on artificial intelligence.
“I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not OK,” said Garcia.
“It really worries me when I think about younger players coming up, that have to go through this. People that still haven’tyet developed fully as a human and that really might be affected by this hate. Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive these messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging. Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made.”
The Threat Matrix service is used by the ITF, WTA, AELTC and USTA. It tracks online hate with the use of artificial intelligence and open-source data. In one of their previous studies that monitored a series of player accounts, they found that one in four of those players were subject to abuse.
Gsrcia’s online post has received support from Madison Keys, Katie Boulter, Jessica Pegula and Bianca Andreescu. The Frenchwoman is still at the US Open competing in the doubles tournament.
