Tennis governing bodies aim to combat online abuse of players

Thursday, December 21, 2023 8:32 PM
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  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • United States
  • Rory Carroll, Reuters

The major governing bodies of tennis on Wednesday said they will aim to protect their athletes from online abuse by monitoring, reporting and helping to identify who is behind threats and other inappropriate contact.

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The ITF, WTA, AELTC and USTA will use the Threat Matrix service to monitor players’ public-facing social media for abusive and threatening content on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok beginning Jan. 1.

“This development reflects the commitment of the international tennis bodies involved to protect and support athletes from the mental trauma and potential real-world threat of online harassment and abuse,” the organizations said in a joint release.