Tennis is failing to address gambling-fuelled abuse

WIMBLEDON'S stars will have to endure hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of threatening social media posts and direct messages as the tennis championship unfolds over these two weeks.

- ADAM MINTER

Racism, misogyny and straight-up mean-spiritedness will comprise much of the abuse. If past tournaments are any guide, gamblers will volley many of them.

According to a new report from the Women’s Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation, 40% of the angry messages players received during the 2024 season came from disgruntled bettors.

The missives are vile. For example, Katie Boulter, the second-ranked British player, recently told the BBC that she’s received messages instructing her to purchase “candles and a coffin” for her family, and hoping that she gets cancer. On a human level, such harassment is horrifying. On a sporting level, it threatens the integrity of competition.

To address the problem, the WTA and ITF are calling for more action against individual gamblers by gaming operators. It’s a good idea, but it’s not enough.

If the tennis associations are serious about protecting players, they need to do a better job of policing and reforming the betting companies with whom they have established profitable partnerships.

Tennis has always been popular with bettors due to its year-round schedule, frequent events and long matches. Online betting has made it more so. Instead of simply wagering on outcomes, online options provide gamblers with the ability to make real-time, in-play bets on propositions as varied as who will win a set, which player will break serve next and how many aces a player will make.

Unfortunately, these individual-focused “prop bets” increase the risk of targeted athlete harassment — and not just in tennis.