LONDON (AP) 鈥� A new monitoring service will help protect tennis players from online abuse and threats, the International Tennis Federation and other governing bodies said Wednesday.
In their joint announcement, ITF, U.S. Tennis Association, the All England Club and the women's WTA tour said the 鈥淭hreat Matrix鈥� service will operate in 35 languages when it launches Jan. 1.
鈥淭ennis players are subject to significant levels of social media abuse and other inappropriate online contact, which poses risks to preparation, performance and mental health,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淭he Threat Matrix service will support the identification of abusers, against whom all available measures will be taken.鈥�
Threat Matrix is 鈥渁 specialist service developed by AI company Signify Group.鈥�
The new service 鈥渨ill monitor players鈥� public-facing social media for abusive and threatening content" on X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
鈥淭ennis must be a sport in which players can compete to the best of their ability, free from any form of harassment,鈥� said David Haggerty, president of the International Tennis Federation.
The men鈥檚 ATP tour and organizers of the Australian Open and French Open were not part of Wednesday's announcement.
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AP tennis:
The Associated Press
