The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced on Thursday that it had blocked approximately 234,000 abusive comments to prevent them from reaching players and fans, noting that more than 85 percent of male tennis players who receive online engagement were subjected to abuse on social media last year.
The federation based its findings on an analysis of more than 3.7 million comments across its account and players' accounts on social media, as part of its "Safe Sport" initiative, which uses AI-supported moderation. The federation clarified that it identified more than 284,000 abusive comments and deleted more than 82 percent of them immediately. During its first year, the program identified and hid more than 162,000 comments containing abuses described as "serious."
For his part, Andrew Azoulay, the Protection Director at the federation, said: "Player care is at the core of the ATP's protection work. Preventing more than 234,000 abusive comments from reaching players and fans demonstrates the tangible impact the program achieves daily. There is no place for online abuse in tennis. We will continue to invest in technology, expertise, and partnerships that protect players, as well as in working with authorities to hold those responsible accountable."
Reports indicated that tennis players are forced to face harsh attacks from online strangers, which prompted French player Gaël Monfils to respond with sarcasm after his early exit at last year's Stuttgart tournament. In a related development, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the All England Club, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) have provided monitoring services that use a combination of artificial intelligence and open-source data to help protect players.
He added that the French Open (Roland Garros) provided AI-supported programs for players to block harassment and hate speech online, a step reflecting the growing efforts to protect athletes from cyberbullying.
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
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