Angry Gamblers Behind Abusive Social Media Posts Targeting Tennis Players

A new report reveals a troubling trend of online abuse directed at tennis players, with a significant portion of the hate coming from frustrated gamblers. According to the AI service Threat Matrix, nearly 50% of the 12,000 abusive posts detected in 2024 were written by angry gamblers. The AI system analyzed over 2.4 million posts across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube, between January and October of this year.

Launched in late 2023 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), and the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the Threat Matrix service is designed to monitor social media and filter harmful content targeting players. The system covers 39 languages and tracks over 7,700 players from ITF World Tennis Tour competitions, along with additional players from WTA tournaments.

Threat Matrix also monitors posts related to major tournaments like Wimbledon and the US Open, including chair umpires. This expansive system helps ensure that abusive comments are detected and handled quickly, particularly for players subjected to severe online vitriol.

Efforts to Combat Abuse and Protect Players

Victoria Azarenka, a former world number one and a member of the WTA Players’ Council, emphasized the importance of the system. “It was essential for the WTA and these partner organizations to take meaningful steps toward filtering, blocking, and reporting hateful and harmful comments. No one should have to endure the hate that so many of us have faced through these platforms,” Azarenka said.

The Threat Matrix system has proven to be effective in identifying violators. In addition to removing abusive posts, it flagged 15 accounts that breached criminal thresholds. In these cases, the service referred the abuse to national law enforcement agencies for further action.

Johnathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, which operates Threat Matrix, expressed satisfaction with the results: “We are extremely pleased to have helped close down a considerable number of prolific abusive accounts and identified clear drivers for abuse, including a large number of angry gamblers.”