Katie Boulter: British No 2 reveals death threats and online abuse to highlight disturbing side of tennis betting | Tennis News
British No. 2 Katie Boulter spoke of the level of abuse intended for certain tennis players and revealed that she and her family had received death threats.
Boulter shared his experiences with BBC Sport To highlight the problem of players who receive toxic messages online.
The 28-year-old examples included a message telling him to buy “candles and a coffin for your whole family” with a reference to the “tomb of her grandmother if she is not dead of tomorrow”.
Another message said that she should “go to hell” because she had cost money on the poster, and another said “I hope you get cancer”.
“I just wonder who is the person who has sent this. I don’t think it is something I would ever say to my worst enemy. It’s just a horrible and horrible thing to say to anyone. It is horrible,” said Boulter.
“Regarding death threats, it is simply not something that you want to read completely after an emotional loss.
“Most of the time, you get it after winning too.”
Abuse of players who have lost money
Katie Boulter beat Carole Monnet 6-7 (4) 6-1 6-1 during the first round of the French Open
Boulter thinks that a large part of the abuses come from players who have lost money and although it has learned to better manage this over the years, incidents can raise real concerns for its safety.
“I think it just shows how vulnerable we are. You really don’t know if that person is there. You really don’t know if they are nearby or if they know where you live or something like that,” she added.
“At the very beginning of my career, it is probably something that I took very personally […] Get comments on your appearance. “”
“It becomes more obvious every time you go on your phone.”
The message that Boulter received with regard to his family came during his first round victory to the French Open against Carole Monnet on May 29. After losing the first set shot, Boulter won the 6-7 (4) 6-1 6-1 match.
Boulter said that she was concerned about the fact that the frequency and severity of abuses increase and care about the potential impact on young players.
“I think it increases in number, and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don’t think there is something on the cards now,” said Boulter.
Boulter said that she was preparing to make the level of abuse increase when she plays Wimbledon, Herhome Grand Slam which begins on June 30.
The British No. 2 also said that she received online abuses if her partner, Australian World No 12 Alex de Minaur, lost a match.
Katie Boulter (left) and her partner Alex de Minaur at the Wimbledon 2023 championships
What is he doing?
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) published their first report on the online mistreatment of players on Tuesday after the launch of the threat matrix service last January.
The system operates on all the main social media platforms and uses AI analysts and human analysts to identify and fight harassment, abuses and threats against players.
The report reveals that 1.6 million messages and comments were analyzed, with around 8,000 people led by 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26% of total abuses, while 40% of the messages were identified as angry players.
Fifteen accounts were identified with the police due to the serious and prolific nature of messages, while the details were shared with security teams during tennis events to prevent individuals from accessing places.
Emma Raducanu and the Katie Boulter race at the Queen’s Club ended after a direct defeat against Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Roudliffe
A spokesperson for WTA and ITF said: “The protection of players and the tennis family in the broad sense against threats and online vile abuses is a key priority for us. Today’s report covering the first year of the threatening matrix service shows the extent of the problem and, above all, the actions taken to protect our athletes.
“Given the clear evidence highlighted by the matrix of threats on the link between angry players and prolific abuse and threat, we call a constructive dialogue with the game industry to help solve this problem.
“Everyone – Paris operators, social media platforms, guiding bodies, players and the requirements of the law – is responsible for making space online safer and more positive. We hope that the game industry will constructively react to our call to more action on their part.”
The threat matrix service is also improved to allow abusive messages to be hidden or deleted in real time.
