Gamblers account for majority of serious online abuse targeted at players

July 16 - A majority of the most serious online abuse directed at tennis players during the 2025 season came from gamblers, according to a report published on Thursday.

The study, undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and World Tennis, found that gamblers were responsible for 42% of all verified abuse and 59% of all serious abuse targeting players across tours.

A report published late last year found similar trends, saying angry gamblers were responsible for nearly half of the abusive social media posts directed at tennis players.

The latest study said that more than 1.2 million posts and comments were analysed during 2025 using the Threat Matrix service, which was launched in 2024 and uses AI and open-source data to help protect athletes from online abuse and harassment.

Over 12,000 posts were categorised as abusive, including 3,726 deemed serious abuse involving violent, sexual, racist and targeted threats. The report said 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals, including one verified account network, were escalated to law enforcement agencies.

It also said 89% of accounts responsible for serious abuse in 2024 did not reappear in 2025, underscoring the effectiveness of joint enforcement efforts.

"While today's findings illustrate the effectiveness of that action to date, further significant progress requires collective action from social media companies, law enforcement, governing bodies and the gambling industry and we will continue to proactively advocate for that," the WTA and World Tennis said in a joint statement.

Last year, Amanda Anisimova told BBC Sport she was "scared" to look at her phone after her 6-0 6-0 defeat by Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final because of the onslaught of online abuse she received.

Katie Boulter also spoke about online abuse, saying she and her family members had received death threats after matches. REUTERS

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