Major Progress Made in Protecting Tennis Players from Online Hate, New Report Shows
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LONDON — Professional tennis is making huge steps forward in its fight against online hate, bullying, and threats directed at athletes.
According to a major new report released on July 16, 2026, the governing bodies of tennis have successfully removed two-thirds of the most serious abusive comments from social media. They have also sent dozens of cases straight to the police.
The report, created jointly by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and World Tennis, looks closely at data collected throughout the 2025 tennis season. The findings show that bad actors are finding it harder to hide. In fact, a stunning 89% of the social media accounts that were responsible for severe abuse in 2024 did not return to cause trouble in 2025.
Tennis leaders say this proves that their strict system for watching, reporting, and punishing online trolls is working. However, they also warn that the battle is far from over. A large portion of the nastiest abuse is still being fueled by angry gamblers who lose money on matches.
How the Protective Shield Works
To protect the players, tennis organizations use a high-tech safety system called Threat Matrix. This service is run by a data company named Signify Group, with help from security experts at Theseus Risk Management and Quest, a firm that specializes in investigations.
The system acts like a giant digital shield covering more than 10,000 professional players and tennis officials across the entire season.
[Social Media Platforms] ➔ [Threat Matrix AI] ➔ [Human Analysts (57 Languages)] ➔ [Action taken]The process uses a mix of artificial intelligence and human intelligence:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): The AI automatically scans public posts and comments on major apps, including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.
- Human Analysts: A team of human experts looks closely at the flagged text. Because tennis is a global sport, these analysts can read and understand content in 57 different languages.
- Special Investigators: When the system finds a truly dangerous or terrifying threat, a team of professional investigators steps in. They gather evidence on the person behind the screen and work closely with stadium and tour security teams to make sure the online threat does not turn into real-world violence.
The sheer amount of data reviewed by this system is massive. Over the course of 2025, the team analyzed more than 1.2 million posts and comments. Out of those, they found more than 12,000 abusive messages. A total of 3,726 posts were labeled as “serious abuse,” which includes violent threats, sexual harassment, racist attacks, and direct threats to a player’s safety.
Big Wins Against Online Trolls
The new report highlights several major successes from the 2025 season. By working closely with social media companies and the police, the tennis authorities achieved the following results:
- 66% of Serious Abuse Removed: Social media platforms quickly deleted two-thirds of the worst comments after being notified by the tennis security team.
- 35 Accounts Sent to the Police: Investigators gathered enough evidence on 35 dangerous accounts to escalate them to law enforcement agencies. These accounts were linked to 12 specific individuals, including one entire network of connected accounts.
- Banning Prolific Trolls: The teams successfully shut down 26 “prolific” abusive accounts on X and Instagram. These 26 accounts had each posted more than 30 abusive messages, meaning a very small group of people was causing a massive amount of pain. Together, just these 26 accounts were responsible for more than one-fifth (21%) of all the abuse found all year.
- Unmasking the Anonymous: Investigators were able to completely or partially identify the real-world identities of 68 abusive account holders. This is a big jump from 2024, when they only unmasked 39 people.
A Small Group Causing Huge Damage
One of the most interesting findings in the report is that the vast majority of online hate does not come from regular tennis fans. Instead, it comes from a tiny, highly aggressive group of internet users.
The report calls these users “prolific offenders.” The data shows that just 9% of all the abusive accounts were responsible for a staggering 87% of the messages labeled as “high concern.”
Furthermore, these repeat offenders are much more likely to write terrifying messages. Their comments frequently include graphic violence, sexual harassment, and awful threats directed at a player’s family members, such as their parents or children.
Because these trolls post so often, stopping just a few of them can make social media a much cleaner and safer place for athletes.
The Gambling Problem
The report also shines a bright light on a major dark side of sports: sports betting.
People who bet money on tennis matches and lose often take their anger out on the athletes. The data shows that these “angry gamblers” were responsible for 42% of all verified online abuse during the 2025 season. Even worse, they were responsible for 59% of the most severe and dangerous threats.
Because gambling is such a huge driver of internet hate, tennis leaders are asking the betting industry to step up and help.
[All Verified Abuse]
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[ Angry Gamblers: 42% ] [ Other: 58% ]
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[All Serious Abuse]
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[ Angry Gamblers: 59% ] [ Other: 41% ]
===================================Fortunately, change is beginning to happen. Earlier this month, a United States betting company called Fanatics Sportsbook became the first sports betting operator to join the fight. They adopted the Threat Matrix tools through a new initiative called the “Bad Actor Program.” This allows the betting company to identify people who abuse players online and ban them from placing bets on their platform.
The WTA and World Tennis are now loudly calling on other gambling companies around the world to do the exact same thing.
What the Experts and Players Say
The people running the sport and the players themselves are glad to see progress, but they emphasize that the work must continue.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the WTA and World Tennis said:
“The wellbeing of players and the tennis family is an absolute priority for us and the sport as a whole. Insight from this report is crucial to helping us broaden our knowledge of the issue and take decisive action to protect victims of vile online abuse by punishing those responsible.”
They added that while the results show their current strategy is working, true victory requires everyone to work together. They are calling for “collective action” from tech companies, police forces, sports organizations, and the gambling industry.
A representative from the WTA Player Board spoke about how much this protection means to the athletes who have to read these comments every day:
“The abuse directed at players online is unacceptable. While it comes from a relatively small number of accounts, its impact can be significant. It’s reassuring to know the WTA and World Tennis are taking this seriously, supporting players, and making it clear that this kind of behaviour isn’t acceptable.”
Jonathan Hirshler, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Signify Group—the company running the AI system—praised the tennis organizations for leading the world in athlete safety.
“The WTA and World Tennis have established one of the world’s leading programmes to protect athletes from online abuse,” Hirshler said. “This year’s report shows both the scale of the challenge, but most importantly, the actions being taken. While online abuse remains a serious issue, the progress reflected in this report shows what can be achieved when sports organisations, tech partners, and security teams work together.”
As the 2026 tennis season continues, the digital shields remain active. The message from the top of the sport is clear: if you threaten a player online, you will be found, you will be banned, and you may be visited by the police.