Female tennis players were targeted with more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2025, according to a report by the Signify Group, highlighting the continued challenge of online harassment in professional sport despite improvements in content moderation.
The report found that the volume of abuse directed at female players remained largely unchanged from 2024.
However, it noted that 66 per cent of the most serious abusive content was removed from social media platforms, while 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals were referred to law enforcement authorities.
The findings were released through the Threat Matrix service, an initiative jointly supported by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The service uses artificial intelligence alongside human analysts to monitor and assess abusive content across X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
Gambling-related abuse remains a major concern
The report showed that sports betting continued to drive a significant proportion of online abuse directed at players.
According to the findings, individuals identified as angry gamblers were responsible for 42 per cent of verified abusive posts in 2025 and 59 per cent of the most serious cases. A previous report published in 2024 found that gamblers accounted for 48 per cent of abusive messages during that year.
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The latest figures underline the growing link between online betting activity and harassment of professional athletes, particularly following match results.
WTA calls abuse unacceptable
Responding to the report, the WTA Player Board described the level of abuse on female tennis players as unacceptable and acknowledged the emotional toll it can have on players.
“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.
“The progress highlighted in this report demonstrates the value of working collaboratively across the sport and with our partners to identify abusive behaviour, support players and take meaningful action against those responsible.”
Players demand stronger protection
Online abuse has become an increasingly prominent issue in professional tennis.
Earlier in 2025, Britain’s Katie Boulter revealed that she had received death threats through social media, prompting renewed calls from players for stronger safeguards.
Several players subsequently urged social media companies to introduce mandatory identity verification for users in an effort to reduce anonymous abuse.
AI monitoring and enforcement
The Threat Matrix system combines artificial intelligence with human review to identify abusive messages directed at players in real time.
According to the report, information gathered through the monitoring system helps tournament organisers, governing bodies and law enforcement agencies identify offenders and take appropriate action where necessary.
The WTA and World Tennis said tackling online abuse requires cooperation beyond tennis.
“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.
“While today’s findings illustrate the effectiveness of that action to date, further significant progress requires collective action from social media companies, law enforcement, governing bodies and the gambling industry, and we will continue to proactively advocate for that.”
Wider efforts across tennis
Efforts to combat online abuse are also expanding across the men’s game.
A separate artificial intelligence-driven protection system introduced in men’s tennis reportedly blocked more than 162,000 abusive social media posts over a one-year period, reflecting the sport’s broader push to protect players from online harassment.
