The 2025 Wimbledon Championships have been marred by a significant increase in online abuse directed at players, with data revealing a nearly fourfold rise compared to the same period in 2024. According to exclusive data shared with the BBC, the Threat Matrix monitoring system detected 1,902 abusive pieces of content sent to players on public-facing accounts, a stark contrast to the 511 reported during the corresponding week of last year's tournament.

Key Findings:

• Most Targeted Players: Initial data up to the quarter-final stage indicates that the three most targeted players were male, a shift from last year when two of the top three were female.
• Player Reactions: Carlos Alcaraz, who lost in the men's final, described the abuse as "cruel," while women's singles runner-up Amanda Anisimova admitted to being "scared" to check her phone after her defeat.
• Monitoring System: The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) employs the Threat Matrix service, developed by data science firm Signify, which uses AI to monitor public-facing social media accounts. A team of investigators manually analyzes flagged content, covering platforms like X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

Enhanced Measures:

Since last year's Wimbledon, enhancements have been made to Threat Matrix to capture evolving terms and address troll accounts that repeatedly post abusive messages. Up to the end of the quarter-final stage, 2,916 posts or comments were verified as abusive, threatening, or discriminatory and reported to platforms. Of these, 132 were assessed as being of "moderate" or "high" threat level, prompting further investigation for potential security or law enforcement action.

Player Testimonies:

• Katie Boulter: The British number one highlighted the "disgusting" volume and nature of social media abuse she received during the French Open, including death threats.
• Taylor Fritz: The semi-finalist mentioned avoiding his phone after a bad loss due to the influx of negative messages.
• Belinda Bencic: The former Olympic champion described the messages players receive as "not human," emphasizing the overwhelming volume of hateful content.

Wimbledon's Response:

A spokesperson for the All England Club stated, "The safety and wellbeing of all players at Wimbledon is our top priority, and this extends to threats and abuse made online. The steps we are taking with Threat Matrix mean that perpetrators of online abuse should understand that they will face consequences for their actions."

Conclusion:

The surge in online abuse at Wimbledon 2025 underscores the urgent need for stricter social media regulations and enhanced protective measures for athletes. As players continue to speak out, the tennis community and social media platforms must collaborate to create a safer online environment.