Iga Swiatek calls for more tools to help players combat online abuse

NEW YORK – Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek on Aug 29 called for tennis’ governing bodies to provide players with more tools to combat online abuse, after Caroline Garcia spoke about the hate she received.

A day earlier, Frenchwoman Garcia said she was the victim of online abuse after her first-round loss at the US Open and blamed “unhealthy betting” as one of the main reasons players are targeted on social media.

The ITF (International Tennis Federation), WTA (Women’s Tennis Association), AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club) and USTA (United States Tennis Association) in December launched a monitoring service named “Threat Matrix”, which uses a combination of artificial intelligence and open-source data to help protect their athletes.

The French Open has also made AI-powered software available for players, which is designed to block online harassment and hate speech, but Swiatek feels more can be done.

“It would be nice if we can do more as (Garcia) did and try to educate people,” the Polish world No. 1 said after her 6-0, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Ena Shibahara.

“Also maybe in the future, have some solutions such as using AI to make it safer for us. I know that there are some tools that, for example, Roland Garros offered for us. This app that we can have on the phone, and it’s going to block the hateful messages. It would be nice if we had more opportunities to use these kind of tools.

“I feel like we can’t be on the internet and feel safe any more. You have to really be careful on what you’re reading, who you’re following.”

World No. 6 Jessica Pegula said she had done her best to avoid looking at comments on her personal social media, but still received abuse through the account made for her skincare brand.

“There was this girl that does my social media for my company Ready 24, and she said I’m getting a lot of really bad messages,” the American said.

“I laughed because it’s so normal for me. I’m like, ‘Oh, no, don’t worry, it’s nothing’. She was gravely concerned that I was getting death threats... It’s not normal, but it’s totally normal for us.”

Men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who has been under intense scrutiny at the US Open after being cleared over a doping case, said receiving hateful messages was part of being an athlete.

“I’m not so much on socials. I try to not look. I know that there are some negative messages, and it’s something you have to be careful about,” the Italian added.

“At the end of the day, that’s why you have the close ones and they know you as a person and as an athlete. My advice is always to stick with them.”

Russian Karen Khachanov urged people to be respectful and not “strike a man when he is down”.

“Let’s be kind to one another. Less hate and more love and the world will become a better place,” he said. REUTERS