WTA Shows Progress In Fight To Curtail Online Abuse Of Players: ‘Absolute Priority’
Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 03:07PM By Barry Janoff
July 30, 2026: In its ongoing and escalating effort to confront online abuse of its players, WTA Driven by Mercedes Benz said more than 1.2 million posts and comments were analyzed across 2025, with 66% of serious abuse removed and that 89% of accounts responsible for serious abuse in 2024 did not reappear in 2025.
In addition, 35 accounts were submitted for review by law enforcement, accruing to the just-published second annual season-wide report into online abuse and threats directed at players across the Tours from the WTA and World Tennis, the sport’s global overseeing organization (fomerly known as the International Tennis Federation).
The report is based on data from Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service.
“The wellbeing of players and the tennis family is an absolute priority for us and the sport as a whole, and the use of the Threat Matrix service is a key part of our wider work on player welfare,” WTA and World Tennis said via the organizations.
““Insight from this report is crucial to helping us broaden our knowledge of the issue and take decisive action to protect victims of vile online abuse by punishing those responsible.
However, WTA and World Tennis understand that the challenge is far from over, “While (the) findings illustrate the effectiveness of that action to date, further significant progress requires collective action from social media companies, law enforcement, governing bodies and the gambling industry and we will continue to proactively advocate for that.”
The Threat Matrix service, delivered by Signify Group and supported by Theseus Risk Management and investigations specialists Quest, builds on the inaugural 2024 season report (published June 2025) and forms part of the ongoing joint initiative between World Tennis and WTA to “identify, investigate and act against online abuse and threats targeting players.”
All WTA and World Tennis players are covered by the Threat Matrix service across the entire season.
More than 10,000 players and officials are covered by the AI-led initiative which is supported by human analysts who analyze and triage content in 57 languages, flagged from open-source data across X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook.
A team of specialist investigators and risk assessors then gather evidence on the most concerning accounts, working with Tour and venue security teams to take action to prevent real-world harm, according to World Tennis and WTA .
“The report highlights the disproportionate role played by a small number of prolific abusive offenders. Just 9% of abusive accounts were responsible for 87% of all abuse categorized as “high concern”, while prolific accounts were responsible for 49% of all detected abuse (up from 43% in 2024).
“Accounts classified as prolific offenders were also significantly more likely to post violent, sexual and family-related abuse.”
The report also highlights the “continued and disproportionate impact of abuse linked to gambling activity. Angry gamblers were responsible for 42% of all verified abuse detected during the 2025 season (a 2% increase on 2024) and 59% of all serious abuse.”
WTA and World Tennis said earlier this month, U.S.-based Fanatics Sportsbook became the first betting operator to adopt investigative tools, including Threat Matrix, through the Bad Actor Program to identify and take action against individuals responsible for social media abuse. The WTA and World Tennis said they are calling on more of the gambling industry to take similarly proactive measures.
According to a WTA Player Board representative via WTA, "The abuse directed at players online is unacceptable. While it comes from a relatively small number of accounts, its impact can be significant. It's reassuring to know the WTA and World Tennis are taking this seriously, supporting players and making it clear that this kind of behavior isn't acceptable.
“The progress highlighted in this report demonstrates the value of working collaboratively across the sport and with our partners to identify abusive behavior, support players and take meaningful action against those responsible."
"This year's report shows both the scale of the challenge, but most importantly, the actions being taken."
"The WTA and World Tennis have established one of the world's leading programs to protect athletes from online abuse, demonstrating a clear commitment to player safety,” Jonathan Hirshler, CEO Signify Group CEO, said via the company. “We're proud to support that effort through Threat Matrix, combining AI, specialist analysts and investigative expertise to identify offenders and help drive real-world action.
While online abuse remains a serious issue, WTA and World Tennis and said the progress reflected in this report shows what can be achieved when sports organizations, tech partners and security teams work together, but tackling online abuse requires continued commitment and effort from all partners.”
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