The foremost male tennis athletes globally were shielded from in excess of 162,000 social networking postings deemed to contain “intense” harassment throughout a year, thanks to a novel system leveraging artificial intelligence, according to the ATP.
A safety mechanism driven by AI scrutinized over 3.1 million messages directed towards the world’s top 245 male athletes across a 12-month timeframe and concealed the offensive remarks as they appeared.
The ATP – the governing entity for men’s professional tennis – determined via its Safe Sport Initiative that approximately 10% of all comments aimed at male athletes were abusive, with instances reaching as high as 50% on specific athletes’ social media profiles.
“Safe Sport fosters a more wholesome digital realm, devoid of venomous remarks and detrimental communications,” stated Dusan Lajovic, a member of the ATP player advisory council.
The ATP reported that exceeding 3,300 comments had been escalated for subsequent action since the initiative’s inception in July 2024 – at which time it was extended to the world’s top 250 male singles players and the top 50 in doubles.
It identified 68 individuals responsible for sending abusive content – culminating in 28 referrals to law enforcement.
Despite the considerable volume of detected abuse, the Safe Sport tool was not capable of identifying every single occurrence.
Online abuse has been widespread within the women’s game for quite some time.
British second-ranked player Katie Boulter disclosed the extent of online abuse she routinely experiences in a conversation with BBC Sport in June.
The 29-year-old mentioned that the abuse amplifies during Grand Slam tournaments and following defeats.
“Early in my career, it was something I likely took to heart… receiving comments regarding my appearance,” Boulter stated.
“It becomes progressively evident each time you use your mobile device.”
“I believe the quantity escalates, and the intensity of the remarks from individuals intensifies as well. I don’t think there are boundaries anymore.”
Former world number three Elina Svitolina was subjected to death threats after her defeat against Naomi Osaka at the Canadian Open earlier in the month.
