Wimbledon use social media service to assist gamers sort out abuse

Wimbledon organisers have a crack team of investigators poised to protect players from online abuse, unmask trolls and identify potential stalkers during the tournament as abuse against female stars ‘continues to increase’.

New monitoring service Threat Matrix will use AI to constantly scan content on platforms such as X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok for any harmful posts aimed at competitors. 

It comes as the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) warned that the number of female stars affected by online bullying is on the rise and urged social media bosses to make their platforms safer. 

In 2022, British tennis star Emma Raducanu told police she was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ after a besotted former Amazon delivery driver tracked down her address and left notes, flowers and even Christmas decorations.

Any questionable messages targeted at the players will be reviewed by a group of trained analysts who will seek to identify the worst offenders, assess the risks posed and have the content removed. 

Last night, British No 2 Harriet Dart spoke after her win over British No 1 Katie Boulter that she was reluctant to use social media because of the hate directed at her. 

The 27-year-old, who has made it to the third round of the Championships, said: ‘There’s a lot of positives for it (social media) but also a lot of negatives.

‘I’m sure today, if I open one of my apps, regardless if I won, I’d have a lot of hate, as well.’ 

Bosses at Signify Group – the ethical data science company behind the program – said female players like Dart are expected to be disproportionately targeted by trolls throughout the Championships. 

Jake Marsh, Head of Sport at Signify said: ‘Women’s sport is booming but with increased profile comes the increased risk of online abuse targeting its participants.

‘Unfortunately, female players, pundits and match officials are targeted with a variety of online abuse, which can also include violent threats.’

Organisers are well aware of the strains placed on players with the volume of targeted abuse online and are using Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as a dedicated monitoring team to tackle the problem. 

‘This year actually is the first year we have effectively got a social media monitoring service, specifically for the event,’ tournament organiser Jamie Baker said. 

‘This isn’t something you’ll see in the public domain at all, you won’t see us shout about it, but effectively we are scrolling social media for any of this type of [abusive] content. 

‘It means that we can get information that we haven’t had in the past and we are not just relying on what the player might be saying is happening to them. If there is something of concern that’s when our security teams can basically kick in and help to do something about it.’

The French Open have previously had their own monitoring service for abuse directed at players online and Wimbledon have no followed suit.

There are different levels of monitoring available to players, with an option to opt-in to what has been described as a more comprehensive service. 

‘There’s two parts to it and it depends how far they want to go with the service,’ Baker said. 

‘Without getting into the details… if they want the full service there is an element of opt-in, but actually we have the ability through this to genuinely scan and pick up some info which could help them. 

‘The basis of it is is that if we have anything that we feel is of concern or worth flagging it’s engaging with the player and then dealing with the next steps of that. 

‘The benefit of having it is we do have the ability to do some kind of official registering with the right people there. 

‘We wouldn’t actually be taking those steps without engaging with the player or their team in terms of trying to get a feel for what’s going on.’

Baker added: ‘We are not stepping in and becoming the police but it’s important to try to help [players].’ 

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said that the number of female players affected by online bullying is on the rise and urged social media bosses to make their platforms safer.

Courtney McBride, WTA General Counsel and SVP said: ‘We’ve been working with our players for several years to support them on this important issue, as the number affected continues to increase.

‘We remain committed to working with the social media companies and urge them to find ways of making their platforms a safe place for expression where harassment or abuse of individuals is not tolerated.’

The WTA – which together with the AELTC and ITF – enlisted the expertise of Threat Matrix to cover this year’s Championships – said that player safety was the ‘number one priority’.

British star Raducanu was found to be the fourth ‘most trolled’ tennis player in 2021 receiving more than 10,000 abusive tweets after she pulled out of Wimbledon with breathing difficulties.

The US Open winner was also targeted by a stalker that same year which left her feeling unsafe in her own home.

In 2022, Bromley Magistrates’ Court heard that Amrit Magar, 35, left the 19-year-old feeling she was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’. 

Magar, from Harrow, north-west London, was also ordered to wear an electronic tag and handed a five-year restraining order.

When a ‘fixated threat’ is detected by Threat Matrix, its open source intelligence (OSINT) investigators will seek to unmask the full identity and geography of the offender.

They will then provide a rapid risk assessment and if deemed necessary raise the issue with the All England Club’s and the player’s security as well as the Police.

The ground-breaking service will also be in constant contact with social media platforms to inform them of abuse and to also facilitate removal of the offending content.

Threat Matrix has already started work on Wimbledon this year by protecting players- some of whom are as young as 15 – who competed in last week’s qualifiers.

Bosses said they were expecting some of the worst offenders to be gamblers who are angry they have lost a bet or are attempting to throw a player off their game in order to improve their odds.

Jonathan Hirshler, co-founder and CEO of Signify, said the service has already been well received by tennis players across the board.

‘A lot of them have said ‘Thank you, it’s the first time anyone has helped us’.

‘It really does make a difference to the player, they just want to know something is being done and it takes the pressure of them and allows them to focus on their game.’

He added that if the team detected that an individual player was being particularly badly targeted, they would not hesitate to raise the alarm with the Club.

‘We would be able to contact the relevant people and say that a particular player may need some extra support or checking in with and so on,’ he said.

Threat Matrix also offers a unique personalised service which provides support to players who receive abuse or threats via private direct messaging.

The system, which operates in 35 languages, has already worked with players and officials at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and the Rugby World Cup.