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Tennis authorities are ramping up efforts to fight online abuse after publishing a detailed report tracking abusive behavior toward players throughout the 2024 season. The WTA and ITF, in partnership with Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service, monitored over 1.6 million social media posts and comments, aiming to identify threats, hate speech, and harassment directed at players — often triggered by betting outcomes.
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The Threat Matrix system used a mix of AI and human review to scan posts in more than 40 languages. Out of the total comments reviewed, about 8,000 messages from 4,200 accounts were flagged as abusive, with 15 of the most severe cases sent to law enforcement — including three passed on to the FBI. These incidents included threats during Grand Slams and the Paris Olympics.
About 458 players were directly targeted during the year, and a small number of repeat offenders caused a large share of the abuse. Ten users were responsible for 12% of all flagged content, and angry gamblers sent 40% of the abuse overall. Authorities and event organizers used this data to remove posts, suspend accounts, and block abusers from attending tournaments.
Players can also report harmful direct messages or emails through a secure channel provided by Threat Matrix. In 2024, 28 players submitted 56 such reports, with the majority coming late in the year as awareness of the support service grew. Most of these personal attacks were again linked to gambling-related frustration.
In 2025, the service is expanding to include real-time social media moderation across WTA and ITF accounts. This feature will hide or delete toxic content before it becomes public and will also be available to individual players upon request.
Jessica Pegula, who sits on the WTA Players’ Council, urged more involvement from the betting industry. She said, “Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure. I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify and take action against the abusers, whose behavior is so often linked to gambling. But it’s not enough on its own. It’s time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats.”
The report also prompted a call to action from both tennis organizations. A WTA and ITF spokesperson stated, “Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue.”
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, highlighted the impact of their work: “This unique dataset… illustrates that a relatively small number of accounts are responsible for a significant proportion of prolific abuse and trolling.”
As players continue to face digital threats, the tennis community is asking betting platforms, social media companies, and law enforcement to collaborate and create a safer space for athletes online.