ATP employs Safe Sport program to battle online harassment, flags over 160,000 abusive comments within the first year

As online abuse towards celebrities and athletes becomes more rampant, the ATP took steps to ensure it's players are protected. The tennis governing body launched the Safe Sport Initiative in July 2024, and they revealed their findings this week.

Safe Sport uses real-time Artificial Intelligence to detect and hide social media comments from players' accounts. Introduced in July 2024, the application is available to the top 250 players in singles and the top 50 in doubles.

The ATP Tour released their findings after one year of implementation. Results showed that more than 3.1 million comments were scanned, with the ones classified as most severe hidden from the 245 players who were targeted.

Additionally, over 162,000 abusive social media comments directed at players within the program's first year. This has been a common topic of discussion lately, with several players often complaining about the abuse they receive whether they win or lose a match.

The ATP is striving to protect it's the well-being of players, says spokesperson

"More than 1 in 10 comments on players' posts were abusive — rising to 50% in extreme cases," read a statement by Andrew Azzopardi, the ATP's director of safeguarding. "While it won't eliminate abuse overnight, it's our first line of defense. Safeguarding player well being is a long-term commitment."

In addition to protecting players from seeing abusive comments, Safe Sport supports players facing email threats, impersonation, deepfakes and scams. Danish tennis star Holger Rune had to implore fans to be careful of what they read online, as a few unscrupulous individuals were posting fake screenshots of false comments allegedly made bi his mother, Aneke Rune.

The stars of the WTA have also been the victim of online abuse, perhaps more than their male counterparts. In addition to receiving sexist and racist remarks, several WTA players have posted screenshots of death threats sent by random people on the internet, aimed at either the players themselves or their family members.