ATP & WTA players competing at the 2023 Roland Garros will receive social media protection via a new smart solution.
Several players have shared some of the abuse they have received on social media from followers, with Leylah Fernandez recently sharing how she copes with online abuse through different channels. In October 2022, Coco Gauff also explained how she uses regular threats and abuse on social media as motivation to perform better.
However, in a potentially ground-breaking move, the French Tennis Federation has teamed up with a technology solution company, Bodyguard.ai, to monitor player's official accounts throughout the 2023 Roland Garros.
The head of Bodyguard.ai, Yann Guerin, acknowledged that the modern-day reality is that players will be subject to abuse, but he hopes that the partnership will help reduce the visibility of harmful messages received by players and their staff.
"Social media is a major conduit for expressing hate and hostility, all under the cover of anonymity. We must be alert to this sad reality. There’s no avoiding it, as the cost of doing nothing is too high. We would like to thank the French Tennis Federation and the organisers of Roland-Garros for joining this collective fight."
"The aim is to protect the players and their mental health directly and indirectly – because their entourages can also read these comments – and ban people intent on spreading hate and being aggressive. Tennis is one of the sports most affected by this curse."
The main target of this partnership is to moderate comments and replies on players' accounts to reduce potentially damaging messages and responses. Also, players involved in the main draw have received support leading up to the competition and will continue to get help with their accounts for days after the tournament has concluded.
Some of the methods introduced will include players scanning a QR code before connecting to their accounts. Then, Bodyguard.ai will provide reports on data such as the number of messages posted, amount of messages deleted and extracts of messages to catch out abusers.
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