Tennis authorities are lobbying gambling firms to close the betting accounts of punters found to have sent abusive messages to female players, with one American gaming company this week already warning its customers they will do so.
A report from the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] and International Tennis Federation [ITF] published last week revealed that 458 players were direct targets of abuse last year, with the British No 2, Katie Boulter, telling the BBC she has been sent death threats and explicit pictures by online trolls.
The report, produced using an AI-led detection system developed by the Signify Group, found that 40% of the social media abuse came from frustrated gamblers, a figure that rose to 77% for direct abuse towards players’ personal accounts.
