Caroline Garcia decries online abuse after US Open defeat, cites ‘unhealthy betting’
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
France's Caroline Garcia has called for tennis and tournaments not to partner betting companies.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK – Caroline Garcia of France has on Aug 28 shared some of the disparaging messages she has received in the wake of recent defeats, and cited “unhealthy betting” as a possible driver of social media abuse of players.
The former world No. 4, who has 11 WTA Tour wins and reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022, fell to the 92nd-ranked Renata Zarazua in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Aug 27.
A day later, in a lengthy post on X, she shared “just a few” of the messages she has received after defeats, including one telling her to shoot herself and another saying “I hope your mum dies soon”.
At the age of 30, she said, she has experienced enough to get past the hurtful messages.
“I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not OK,” Garcia wrote.
“It really worries me when I think about younger players coming up, that have to go through this. People that still haven’t yet developed fully as a human and that really might be affected by this hate.”
Garcia called out tennis and tournaments partnering with betting companies, wondering if it contributed to a rise in such abuse.
“Tournaments and the sport keeps partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting,” she added.
“The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people...
“People are free to do whatever they want with their money, but maybe we should not promote them (the betting companies).
“Also, if someone decided to say these things to me in public, he could have legal issues. So why online we are free to do anything? Shouldn’t we reconsider anonymity online?”
Officials in a range of sports, including tennis, have tried to shield players from abusive messages.
The French Open in 2022 partnered with a company that uses artificial intelligence to filter players’ social media accounts. Wimbledon also launched a social media monitoring service to protect players from online abuse.
“And still, no progress has been made,” Garcia lamented.
Defending US Open champion Coco Gauff said she had also been on the receiving end of similar messages.
“You could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself’,” said the American, who added that her solution to “nasty” comments is to block anyone posting them.
“I will literally spend 30 minutes blocking all the people.” REUTERS, AFP
