Under a new artificial intelligence-powered system, the ATP claimed, more than 162, 000 social media posts containing “severe” abuse were posted by the world’s top men’s tennis players in a year.
Over the course of a 12-month period, an AI-driven safety tool uncovered the abusive comments in real time that were sent to the world’s top 245 male players.
Through its Safe Sport Initiative, the ATP, which regulates men’s professional tennis, discovered that 50% of the time there were abusive comments on some players’ pages, compared to one in ten from the ATP.
Dusan Lajovic, a member of the ATP player advisory council, said, “Safe Sport creates a healthier online environment, free from hateful comments and negative messages.
Since it launched the initiative in July 2024, the ATP has made it available to the top 250 men’s singles players and the top 50 in doubles, according to the ATP, who have received more than 3,300 comments.
28 of the 68 victims’ abuse referrals were made to the police, according to the report.
Safe Sport was unable to identify every instance of abuse, despite the fact that a sizable amount of it had been found.
Online abuse has been rampant in the women’s game for a while.
In June, British number two Katie Boulter revealed the severity of the regular online abuse she endures with BBC Sport.
The 29-year-old claims that the abuse increased after defeats and Grand Slams.
It’s probably something I took very personally when I first started out in my career: people criticize how you look, according to Boulter.
Every time you use your phone, it becomes more obvious.
I believe that the number and quality of what people say are increasing. Nothing seems off the cards right now, in my opinion.
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Source: BBC
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