On the WTA Tour, toxic relationships between male coaches or fathers and female tennis players are often discussed, but the most recent instance was something the tennis world had never seen before.
Footage recently emerged of a female player being brutally assaulted by her father on-court. Hopefully, the monster responsible for that violence is found and given the jail time his disgusting actions deserve.
The girl who was the victim of that vile assault is not a widely known player. Although such a crime could be committed against more high-profile players, those lower down the chain are probably even more vulnerable to abusive men.
Nonetheless, the WTA needs to ensure its players are treated well by male coaches, especially since the vast majority of the coaches on the WTA Tour are men, with few female coaches in the men's or women's games.
It is important to emphasize that the male coaches who act inappropriately are a small minority and that most are decent people who sincerely try to help players improve and achieve their goals.
Nonetheless, the shocking footage of that father reminds us that bad men in positions of power exist. Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was among those who reacted on social media to the awful video that circulated.
While Azarenka was furious about the actions of the father, she also rightly condemned those who filmed the incident for over a minute without doing anything to help the woman being assaulted. She finished by asking anyone who knows the man in the video to report him and his actions.
"I don't know who this person is... but wtf is this?!? People filming for this long without intervening. Absolute disgrace... And it happens so much there has to accountability... Please report who this person is if somebody knows."