By Shrivathsa Sridhar
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Top men’s tennis players were shielded from more than 162,000 social media comments containing “severe” abuse during the first year of the Artificial Intelligence-powered ATP Safe Sport initiative, the sport’s governing body said on Thursday.
The abusive messages, which targeted 245 players, were found and then hidden in real time as the system scanned more than 3.1 million comments for harmful digital content following its launch in July 2024.
“Safe Sport creates a healthier online environment, free from hateful comments and negative messages,” said Serb Dusan Lajovic, the ATP Player Advisory Council member.
“This way my social media presence is defined by who I am, not by my performance on the court.”
Tennis players, like many athletes, often have to deal with the wrath of anonymous abusers online. A study conducted by the governing bodies of the sport showed last year that many of the offenders were found to be angry gamblers.
Former world number three Elina Svitolina said this month following her defeat by Naomi Osaka in Montreal that she had been flooded with abuse and death threats, and blamed the “shameful” behaviour on disgruntled bettors.
Men’s players are equally prone to abuse and ATP Director of Safeguarding Andrew Azzopardi said that Safe Sport fundamentally changed how his organisation protected athletes online over the last year.
“More than one in 10 comments on players’ posts were abusive – rising to 50% in extreme cases. While it won’t eliminate abuse overnight, it’s our first line of defence,” Azzopardi said.
“Safeguarding player wellbeing is a long-term commitment.”
During the first year of Safe Sport, officials escalated more than 3,300 comments while they identified 68 perpetrators and initiated 28 law enforcement referrals.
Beyond social media, the initiative which currently covers the top 250 singles and top 50 doubles players will also support athletes facing email threats, impersonation, deepfakes as well as scams.
The ATP added it will enhance incident response protocols, broaden protections and advocate for greater accountability from social media platforms in the future.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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