‘Hope you get cancer’ – Boulter shares her online abuse with BBC

When the death threats first appeared at the French Open, Katie Boulter had just broken a tiebreaker.

The Briton’s victory in the match was irrelevant.

“Hope you get cancer”, said one message.

Another, which was filled with expletives, made the comments “candles and a coffin for your entire family” and “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow”

A third person said, “Go to hell, I lost the money my mother gave me.”

The British number two’s response, as she reads through them 10 days later, is a mix of despair, resignation and fear.

Boulter’s reasoning for sharing the messages is two-fold.

She claims that this kind of abusive content has become “the norm.” Boulton, 28, is concerned about how it might affect younger players.

“At the very start of my career, it’s probably something I took very personally… getting comments about the way you look”, she says.

Every time you use your phone, it becomes more obvious.

I believe that the number and quality of what people say are increasing. I don’t think there’s anything off the cards now. “

During her French Open first-round encounter with Carole Monnet on May 29, she sent a message to her loved ones warning them.

Boulter rallied to win the first-set tie-break, becoming the first woman to claim a victory at Roland Garros, winning 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-1.

As she reflects on the messages she receives, she says it is hard to differentiate between those that constitute a genuine risk and those that do not.

Boulton responds, “I think it kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really have no idea who is visiting the site. You really don’t know if they’re nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that. “

She shook her head as she reads the message hoping that she will get cancer.

She responds, “I just wonder who the person is who has sent that.”

Boulter believes a lot of the abuse she is sent is from people who have placed bets on her matches, given it comes after victories as well as defeats.

The impact is obvious, despite her claims that she has improved with moving on or simply refraining from reading her direct messages.

It’s not something you want to read right away after an emotional loss, she says.

” A lot of the time you get it after you win as well. “

Statistics obtained exclusively from BBC Sport reveal how much players are being abused on social media and what steps are being taken to stop it.

According to data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), about 8, 000 abusive, violent, or threatening messages were made available to 458 tennis players on their social media accounts in 2024.

A significant proportion of abuse stems from betting, according to Signify, which has been working with tennis authorities on detecting abuse through an artificial intelligence-led detection system called Threat Matrix.

More than a quarter of all abuse (26%) was directed at five players.

The most popular account sent 263 abusive messages, and 15 of them were handed over to law enforcement.

Nine of the 10 most prolific accounts – the majority of which were related to angry gamblers – were either suspended or had content removed.

The tennis authorities and the betting industry received further information about 39 account holders.

In response to 40% of all reported abuse, which was clearly related to gambling activity because of the abuse’s timing or content, angry gamblers sent 40% of the time throughout the year.

Asked for a response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson said its members” do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport”.

It added that “It is crucial social media companies take immediate action against users and remove offensive content.”

Boulter, who ranks 39th in the world, claims that players also have a problem with explicit images.

Boulter claims that she has experienced a lot of those kinds of things, though she acknowledged that many of those things have been “filtered out through Instagram.”

” I have noticed that more in my hidden messages or requests, which is a place I don’t go to very often.

“That’s a bigger issue as well.” Really, young people shouldn’t be receiving or seeing things like that.

Boulter says she has occasionally engaged with those who have sent her abuse, in an effort to get them to think about what they have said.

She says, “I just tried to send them a nice message. Maybe they can look at themselves and say, “Oh, well maybe I shouldn’t have sent that.”

“Oh no, I’m a huge fan,” is one of the responses I actually receive from them. I’m so sorry. Although I didn’t mean to send you that stuff, it was sensitive. I still back you, you know. I think you’re amazing. ‘

They “don’t sometimes realize what they’ve actually said to these people.”

Boulter is getting ready to get more abusive when she plays at her own Grand Slam.

“Wimbledon for me would probably be pretty astronomical”, she explains, adding she also receives abuse based on the performances of her fiance – Australian world number 12 Alex de Minaur.

We actually both get a little bit from one another as a couple, so he frequently gets some of my matches when we lose, and he occasionally gets his when he wins, too.

The Frenchwoman urged online trolls to remember that players are “humans.”

And she suggested tournaments partnering with betting companies added to the problems.

Supporters of Garcia’s message included US Open champion Jessica Pegula and five-time major champion Iga Swiatek.

Pegula described “continuous threats to death” and “family threats” as “normal” now.

The American has joined others in the sport calling for the gambling industry to help tackle prolific and threatening message connected to betting.

No player should have to endure online abuse, she said.

The social media and gambling companies should address the issue head-on and take immediate action to protect those who are threatened.

In May 2023, American Taylor Townsend shared a screenshot of the death threat and racist abuse she received in an email after losing a match.

The level of racist abuse Jay Clarke and Sloane Stephens had previously exposed on social media.

Tennis authorities used Threat Matrix for the first time in January 2024 thanks to a collaboration between the ITF, WTA, All England Lawn Tennis Club (ALTC) and the USTA (USTA). Over the past five years, it has been employed in other sports.

It covers WTA and ITF players throughout the year, with all competitors offered the service during Wimbledon and the US Open.

Players are given security advice and the opportunity to share abuse they’ve received via direct messaging.

AELTC’s CEO, Sally Bolton, claimed that the abuse levels that are currently present have “become significantly worse.”

” We try very hard to protect the players when they’re on site and digitally we are investing in helping to support them to not have that abuse happen, “she said.

We must consider how to reduce some of the threat and risk associated with gambling on sport because it’s disappointing that athletes are unable to carry out their activities without being subjected to abuse.

We were told by the WTA and ITF that protecting players from online abuse was “a key priority.”

” From law enforcement escalation and platform intervention to banning abusers from our events, perpetrators must understand that they will face consequences for their actions, “they said in a statement.

The partnerships in place, which include betting companies, were supported by the WTA and ITF, which argue that this increases regulation and generates revenue for projects like Threat Matrix.

It is crucial that the information used for that purpose be from one reliable source because “sport betting is inevitable.” This is why we have rigorously vetted partnerships with official data suppliers – without them, betting on tennis could take place in unregulated markets, based on unofficial data, for which there is no oversight and little or no deterrent to corruptors. “

Signify Group CEO Jonathan Hirshler pointed out that a “significant proportion” of abuse results from a “relatively small” number of accounts.