Threat Matrix identifies 12,000 abusive posts since January launch

The ITF, WTA, All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and United States Tennis Association (USTA) have today unveiled the findings of a co-ordinated approach to combat online abuse against players, officials and the wider tennis family.

The bodies came together in 2023 to launch Threat Matrix, which monitors public-facing social accounts for abusive and threatening content on X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. It also provides support for players who receive abuse or threats via private direct messaging.

Between January and October 2024, the service monitored 2.47 million posts. Of these, around 12,000 posts and comments were verified as abusive (i.e. regarded as breaking social media platform community guidelines) and referred to social media platforms for removal of the abuse or, in serious cases, the entire account. Key trends, insights and actions include:

• Abuse from 15 accounts was regarded as having breached criminal thresholds and passed to the relevant national law enforcement for action
• A small number of accounts were the source of prolific abuse. 52 accounts sent 10 or more abusive posts/comments, 26 of which have now been suspended following referral by Threat Matrix with the remaining cases under platform review
• ‘Angry gamblers’ are a significant motivation of abuse, accounting for 48% of all abuse in the period under review
• Sexist remarks and sexually explicit or inappropriate content were the most common categories of abuse
• Five scams, in which player accounts were cloned, were detected and reported to local authorities
• Increased volumes of abusive content, which correlate with heightened visibility and interest in tennis, were noted during periods in which Grand Slams were held

“Protecting our players and the wider tennis family from online abuse is critical to us all,” said a spokesperson for ITF, WTA, AELTC and USTA. “That’s why we came together a year ago to put a proactive monitoring service in place for our athletes and officials.

“Through the Threat Matrix initiative, approximately 12,000 verified abusive posts and comments have been reported to the social media platforms for action in the last ten months alone, and the identities of 15 highly abusive account authors have been passed to national law enforcement for action.

"Abusers should be under no illusion – we will pursue criminal prosecution where we can, seek to exclude them from access to major social media platforms and ban them from attending our events.

“As we enter 2025, the Threat Matrix initiative will be further enhanced to include support with direct messaging abuse protection for those who need it. We are realistic about the battle we face but are resolute in doing whatever we can to protect our athletes, their mental health and overall well-being from online abuse.”

Threat Matrix utilises artificial intelligence and human expertise to detect, analyse, identify and take action against abusers. The service went live in January 2024 and operates in 39 languages. 

It currently protects 7,739 players competing at ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments and 563 players contesting WTA events. All players competing in the main draw and qualifying rounds for Wimbledon and the US Open in 2024 were also covered, as were Chair Umpires at those events.

The service is designed to:

• Automatically monitor all social media posts to the players (and officials, during Wimbledon and the US Open) for harassment, abuse and threat
• Provide rapid threat assessment of personal safety
• Alert social platforms of abuse and fixated threats, facilitating the removal of the offending content.
• Support law enforcement agencies in the investigation of the most serious cases
• Include educational support programmes to help players mitigate abuse and threat

“The data collected in the first nine months of this project indicates the scale of abuse faced by players,” said Stuart Miller, ITF Senior Executive Director for Integrity & Legal.

“The tennis stakeholders have a duty to protect and enhance the wellbeing and safety of players. We expect those numbers will continue to rise, and we will continue to fight against the scourge of social media abuse in partnership with key stakeholders, so that we can address its cause and not just its symptoms.”

Miller continues to reinforce the need for a collective effort, including calling on the social platforms and regulated betting market operators and umbrella bodies to step up.

“It is only by collective effort from players, law enforcers, betting operators, governing bodies and the social platforms that we will bring about change,” he added.