Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin / Photo credit: Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP 06:00, May 22, 2023

Faced with cyberharassment of players, the French Tennis Federation is fighting back. For the first time in the history of Roland-Garros, the FFT will set up an application to identify and delete the hateful messages that athletes receive on their social networks.

Players more protected. After several requests to the French Tennis Federation, the participants of Roland-Garros 2023 have finally been heard. For the first time in the history of the mythical Porte d'Auteuil tournament, the organizers have decided to take the subject of cyberbullying seriously. Insults, intimidation, and even sometimes death threats, tennis players receive more and more disturbing messages on social networks after matches, the latter usually coming from frustrated bettors after a match.

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Very often targeted, the Frenchman Benoît Paire had shared several screenshots on the social network Twitter dating from April 2022. It read messages such as: "We're going to kill you" or "please, die". Other French players such as Gaël Monfils or Caroline Garcia had already pointed out this scourge that particularly hits the world of tennis. A call heard by Amélie Mauresmo, director of Roland-Garros. Concerned about the mental health of players, the former captain of the Davis Cup France team announced that she had put in place a new mechanism to fight against this cyberbullying during the fortnight.

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— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) April 21, 2023

Specialized company

During the Paris tournament, the FFT will call on a company called Bodyguard. Specialized in cyberbullying, the latter will make it possible to detect and delete hate messages that athletes may receive. Players of the main draw, but also juniors or wheelchair participants, all registrants can, if they wish, benefit from this service. A major advance that will allow athletes to "be freer in their heads", said Amélie Mauresmo.

The director of Roland-Garros openly expressed her pride after this announcement: "It's canon for the mental well-being of the players! It cleanses the mind. I can't wait to see the players' feelings on this serve," said the former French number 1.