ATP Blocks 234,000 Abusive Comments As More Than 85% Of Men’s Tennis Players Face Online Abuse

More than 85% of men’s tennis players who attracted engagement on social media faced online abuse over the past year, with the ATP blocking around 234,000 abusive comments before they could reach players or fans, the governing body said on Thursday.

The findings come from an analysis of more than 3.7 million comments across ATP and player social media channels through its Safe Sport initiative. The programme combines artificial intelligence-powered moderation with specialist threat assessment to identify and address online abuse.

The ATP said it detected more than 284,000 abusive comments during the period, removing over 82% of them in real time. In the programme’s first year, it identified and hid more than 162,000 comments classified as severe abuse.

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“Player welfare sits at the heart of the ATP’s safeguarding work,” said Andrew Azzopardi, the ATP director of safeguarding.