A day after her elimination from the US Open, French tennis player Caroline Garcia shared some of the hate messages she received on social media on Wednesday, focusing on the impact of sports betting.
“I hope your mother dies soon,” “you should think about committing suicide” and “you’re shit” are some of the messages that García, winner of 11 WTA tournaments, reported having received after recent defeats.
“There are hundreds of them,” said the former world number four, who surprisingly fell in the first round of the New York Grand Slam at the hands of Mexican Renata Zarazúa.
“It really worries me when I think about the younger players, who have to go through this,” Garcia, 30, said of a phenomenon that impacts tennis and other sports.
“It affects us, we are human. Sometimes, when we receive these messages, we are already emotionally destroyed after a difficult defeat. Many people have already spoken about this problem, but nothing has been done,” he lamented.
Garcia criticised the fact that social media platforms do not control these messages despite advances in artificial intelligence and also that sports organisations and tournaments continue to ally themselves with betting companies, which can encourage more people to fall into addiction.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they should be banned, because people are free to do what they want with their money. But maybe we shouldn’t promote them,” said the 2022 WTA Finals winner, whose complaint received immediate support from other colleagues.
“Thank you for this voice,” world number one Iga Swiatek thanked her on X.
Officials from various sports, including tennis, have launched initiatives to protect players from abusive messages. The ATP (the association of men’s tennis) announced in July a new service to help its players filter out toxic and abusive comments.
Argentine tennis player Francisco Comesaña, who has not yet used the app, said that he receives insults and criticism after both a defeat and a victory.
“Whether you win or lose, you’re always going to get insulted. I try to spend some time without using the phone because otherwise you want to fight with everyone,” he explained after his spectacular victory on Wednesday against Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
“They always tell you: ‘You let yourself lose, you sold the match’. How am I going to sell the match? Since I was little I dream of being here and I would give my life to be on a tennis court,” he claimed. “They don’t know if That day I woke up feeling bad, whether I was injured or recovering from something. They give their opinion without knowing.”
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– 2024-09-04 02:29:36
