Trashed Online: The Torment Tennis Star Katie Boulter Endures Amid Gambling-Fueled Abuse
Wishing for someone to develop cancer
communication platforms have emerged as a battleground for tennis professionals, frequently riddled with intolerable comments. Most recently, Katie Boulter, a British athlete, and Eva Lys, a German contender, have stepped forward to expose the fury.
In a heart-wrenching exposure, Katie Boulter revealed the appalling messages she has received on social media, one of which suggested, "Hopefully you get cancer." Furthermore, threats against her and her family were uncannily rampant. Boulter felt compelled to go public with this horrifying reality due to the depressingly common occurrence of such despicable content. "It's like opening Pandora’s box every time I pick up my phone," she lamented.
The increased vulnerability of athletes like Boulter is disconcerting. The mysterious origin of most assailants leaves her in a constant state of anxiety, questioning their whereabouts and potential knowledge of her whereabouts. Boulter strongly suspects that those propagating the vile rhetoric are individuals who have wagered on her matches. "Imagine discovering death threats right after a gut-wrenching loss," she shared. surprisingly, she's even subjected to such aggressive comments after triumphs.
No Solitary Agony
The Continuing Fallout for Tennis Superstars
In the world of tennis, alarming instances of stalking have made waves, particularly involving Iga Swiatek, a former world no.1, and Emma Raducanu, a former US Open champion. In a chilling reflection of this predicament, Eva Lys, a 23-year-old tennis star, described the deluge of hate messages on the internet as an unflinching aspect of her tennis career.
As Lys gained visibility and her matches received more broadcasts, the magnitude of the abuse seems to have escalated. "It's crucial to keep speaking about it, in the hope that it'll dwindle again someday," Lys asserted to the "Tagesspiegel."
In a bid to secure tennis players from such online onslaughts, the WTA professional organization teamed up with other organizations to introduce a technological solution employing artificial intelligence. According to the data from January to October 2024, 12,000 posts breaching rules were identified through this solution, and 15 accounts were referred to national law enforcement agencies.
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Tennis professionals, such as Katie Boulter, continue to face hate comments on communication platforms, often within the realm of sports, including tennis. The relentless perseverance of such intolerable content, even after victories, further underscores the need for stricter measures to combat online abuse in the tennis community.
