Swiatek backs Roland Garros initiative to protect players from social media abuse

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Roland Garros rolled out an app this year to protect tennis players from social media abuse and Iga Swiatek will use it.

Social media is something most public figures experience at one point in their lives. Tennis players are no exception as many have talked about dealing with it over the course of their career. Leylah Fernandez spoke about it as did many others.

Some handle it well like Coco Gauff who doesn't care but oftentimes it goes too far. Even people associated with players can feel it as Berrettini's girlfriend recently spoke about the abuse she got since getting together with him.

Roland Garros elected to do something about that this year teaming up with tech company Bodyguard.ai to monitor the player's account and protect them from social media. It's an initiative that got a lot of praise as it's long overdue.

Swiatek Dismisses Extra Pressure Ahead Of No. 1 Spot Defence At Roland Garros
Swiatek Dismisses Extra Pressure Ahead Of No. 1 Spot Defence At Roland Garros

I will use the app, and I think it's a great idea and a step forward in the right direction, because honestly, you know, like social media was also in my life because I'm this generation who had it even when we just learned how to use our phones. So it's just sad to kind of see that the thing that was supposed to kind of make us happy and make socialise is giving us more negative feelings and negative thoughts.

Swiatek on the initiative

Swiatek herself has a lot of experience with social media as she had a ritual in the past going online and checking what people thought of her matches. The more famous she got the more negative it got and she stopped doing that since because it was starting to affect her confidence. In that way, she's very supportive of this idea praising the French Tennis Federation.

So the app, I think it's a great idea, and the French Federation made a really great job. Also, I feel like every year we go on-site there is more and more space actually to rest and quiet rooms and places where you can take a nap, for example. I think like they care about our well-being, so that's great.

WATCH: Djokovic imitates coach Ivanisevic during Roland Garros practice
WATCH: Djokovic imitates coach Ivanisevic during Roland Garros practice

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles