Female tennis players faced 12,000 abusive posts in 2025

Female tennis players received more than 12,000 abusive social media posts and messages in 2025, according to a new report from the Signify Group, whose AI-led threat matrix service monitors platforms including X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. The figure is broadly unchanged from 2024, but the report noted progress in tackling the problem, with 66% of serious abuse now being removed and cases escalated to law enforcement. The Women's Tennis Association's player board called the abuse "unacceptable", saying its impact can be significant even though it comes from a relatively small number of accounts.

The report found that 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals were referred to law enforcement, while angry gamblers remained a major source of hostility, responsible for 42% of verified abuse and 59% of the most serious cases in 2025. British number two Katie Boulter has previously spoken about receiving death threats, and players have called for social media platforms to introduce identity verification to curb the abuse. The WTA and World Tennis said tackling the issue further would require collective action from social media companies, law enforcement, sports governing bodies and the gambling industry, noting that a separate AI-driven system in the men's game had blocked 162,000 abusive posts over the past year.