Former US Open finalist Madison Keys says she is frustrated that not enough is being done to tackle abusive messages on social media.
The world No.48 is the latest top name to address the issue in recent weeks with Shelby Rogers and Diego Schwartzman also previously speaking out. Following her loss at the US Open, Rogers said she expected to receive death threats which she has become used to. As for Schwartzman, he came under fire online following a shock loss in his country’s Davis Cup tie against Belarus. Speaking to reporters, he said ‘ill-intentioned criticism is the only bad thing about social networks.’ In another case, Sloane Stephens has previously posted screenshots of racist messages she has received.
Keys, who has also been a victim of social media abuse during her career, has vowed to keep speaking out about the issue until more is done to address it. According to one study conducted by BBC Sport in 2020, 30% of Elite British sportswoman said they have been trolled on social media.
“You’re not gonna win every match. Sometimes you get injured too. Some days are worse than others. Some months don’t go how you hoped. But what I do connects me to so many great people who are supportive and kind, and that’s what makes me happy,” Keys wrote on Twitter.
“If you’ve seen my IG (Instagram) recently, you know how frustrated I am that social media platforms don’t do more to keep the awful and abusive messages out of our DMs. It’s not ok for us to get death threats on our worst days (or any day!)’
“I know this is happening to other athletes, my friends, and younger kids, and I will keep speaking out on this until social media is a safe place for everyone.”
Reuters News Agency recently quoted the WTA as confirming that the number of players receiving abuse on social media is on the rise. The governing body of women’s tennis says they are taking proactive measures to address the issue. Including collaborating with Theseus who are 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,” a statement reads.
During this year’s Wimbledon Championships Novak Djokovic pointed out the complexity of trying to tackle online abuse during one of his press conferences. The Serbian has a following of 8.8 million on Twitter and 9.3M on Instagram as of October 1st 2021.
“It’s a serious subject that everyone needs to address and be involved in and try to create a more protective environment. But it’s difficult. It’s free,” he commented.
“It’s out there, so anybody can really open an account, profile on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, whatever, and start abusing, trolling somebody that they don’t like.
“It’s really hard to protect yourself fully from that unless you just switch off and you’re not present. So I feel like we all have to stand with each other but at the same time I of course publicly accuse and I’m against the abuse of course.”
The concept of players completely ditching social media all together is something that is very unlikely due to the earning potential. Earlier this year The Times reported that players who have a strong online presence can make up to £128,000 for every sponsored post on social media.
