Katie Boulter reveals scale of online abuse and death threats sent to her

Zardoz7/12

Zardoz7/12

Hall of Fame
Article

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches, as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.

Boulter, 28, shared her experiences in an interview with the BBC. The world number 39 received messages that read: "Hope you get cancer", "Candles and a coffin for your entire family", and "Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me".

"I just wonder who the person is that has sent that," Boulter said, looking at the "hope you get cancer" message.

"I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible."

The WTA and ITF study, which monitored 1.6 million posts and comments last year using Threat Matrix AI, are calling for the gambling industry to tackle those people responsible for the abuse more effectively.

"I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are," Boulter said.

"You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1934845966428918185

The WTA said 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threat last year and that action had been taken against the most serious and prolific cases, including 15 accounts escalated to law enforcement.

"Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure," American world number three Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players' Council, said in a statement.

"I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify and take action against the abusers, whose behaviour is so often linked to gambling. But it's not enough on its own.

"It's time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats."
 
Imagine how addicted she must be to social media... for her to keep using it despite all the death threats :-D
Even if you need it for PR purposes, you don't have to do that yourself.
Even Trump just dictates to someone who does all the typing for him...

Moose Malloy said:
Jack Sock talks about online harassment at 15 min mark, he says its unrealistic to tell players to stay off social media. These are millenials/Gen z.

Click to expand...
Not surprised at all to hear Jack Sock has no self-control.
In fact tennis players have less self-control than all other professions, if the tantrums are anything to go by...
A lot of millennials have quit social media, that is for certain, I've witnessed this.

messiahrobins said:
I am just baffled over all this. How can anyone care what some random stranger says to them over the internet. To me thats as relevant as a squirrel giving me the w*nker hand sign.
Click to expand...
Some people are extremely sensitive and take everything to heart, no matter where or who its coming from...
I think its the way they were raised, if parents raise them with kid gloves, or raise them to think they're special.
That is why women are so easily offended, parents often treat their daughters softly, or softer than they treat their sons.
 
Last edited:
ALCARAZWON said:
Imagine how addicted she must be to social media... for her to keep using it despite all the death threats :-D
Even if you need it for PR purposes, you don't have to do that yourself.
Even Trump just dictates to someone who does all the typing for him...
Click to expand...
Jack Sock talks about online harassment at 15 min mark, he says its unrealistic to tell players to stay off social media. These are millenials/Gen z.

 
ALCARAZWON said:
Imagine how addicted she must be to social media... for her to keep using it despite all the death threats :-D
Even if you need it for PR purposes, you don't have to do that yourself.
Even Trump just dictates to someone who does all the typing for him...
Click to expand...
I am just baffled over all this. How can anyone care what some random stranger says to them over the internet. To me thats as relevant as a squirrel giving me the w*nker hand sign.
 
Alcaraz has the right attitude.

If you lose your match, just stay off social media for a while. Either that or get someone else to manage your account for you.

This is why it pays to have proper hobbies and interests outside of Tennis, so that when you're done practicing or playing, your head isn't buried in your phone for hours at a time.
 
Social media is a marketing tool and Alcaraz can afford to have his people manage things whereas Boulter probably can't.

No_Kwan_Do said:
Alcaraz has the right attitude.

If you lose your match, just stay off social media for a while. Either that or get someone else to manage your account for you.

This is why it pays to have proper hobbies and interests outside of Tennis, so that when you're done practicing or playing, your head isn't buried in your phone for hours at a time.
Click to expand...
 
Aren't you supposed to have "people" to wade through all that BS for you? What are they paying those agencies to do?
 
messiahrobins said:
I am just baffled over all this. How can anyone care what some random stranger says to them over the internet. To me thats as relevant as a squirrel giving me the w*nker hand sign.
Click to expand...
But how do you know who's just a random "squirrel" and who is a stalker and/or a possible assailant?
 
No_Kwan_Do said:
Alcaraz has the right attitude.

If you lose your match, just stay off social media for a while. Either that or get someone else to manage your account for you.

This is why it pays to have proper hobbies and interests outside of Tennis, so that when you're done practicing or playing, your head isn't buried in your phone for hours at a time.
Click to expand...

In another article, she was saying she get this even when she wins because she's beaten someone else and the person lost money betting on them.
 
Zardoz7/12 said:
Article

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches, as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.
Click to expand...

40%? I'm thinking more like 80%, maybe even 90%.
 
Zardoz7/12 said:
Article

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches, as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.

Boulter, 28, shared her experiences in an interview with the BBC. The world number 39 received messages that read: "Hope you get cancer", "Candles and a coffin for your entire family", and "Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me".

"I just wonder who the person is that has sent that," Boulter said, looking at the "hope you get cancer" message.

"I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible."

The WTA and ITF study, which monitored 1.6 million posts and comments last year using Threat Matrix AI, are calling for the gambling industry to tackle those people responsible for the abuse more effectively.

"I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are," Boulter said.

"You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1934845966428918185

The WTA said 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threat last year and that action had been taken against the most serious and prolific cases, including 15 accounts escalated to law enforcement.

"Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure," American world number three Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players' Council, said in a statement.

"I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify and take action against the abusers, whose behaviour is so often linked to gambling. But it's not enough on its own.

"It's time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats."
Click to expand...
The betting industry is a blight on this sport. Rampant match -fixing at the lower levels, and then stuff like this at the higher levels.

Gotta have a system for these degenerates to be tracked down and face charges.
 
Just stay off social media. It's better that way. Or hire someone out of college to do your posting for you and tell them to never read to you and of the DMs.

Or may social media should have an option where you can allow people to follow you, but they cannot DM you.
 
Rosstour said:
Messiah said he doesn’t care what a stranger writes on the internet so I decided to give it a shot
Click to expand...
You know full well some people care what a stranger says on the internet. You don’t need to “test” anything acting like you don’t know. Get outta here with that. You just wanted to drop bait. This is a tennis forum take that somewhere else stop polluting
 
InsuranceMan said:
You know full well some people care what a stranger says on the internet. You don’t need to “test” anything acting like you don’t know. Get outta here with that. You just wanted to drop bait. This is a tennis forum take that somewhere else stop polluting
Click to expand...

Lmao just a bit of good natured fun with @messiahrobins , we agree on a lot and disagree on some.

One example of someone validly taking something personal online is when the Djokofans harassed the throat judge with “you will join your son soon”

Her son died in an auto accident IIRC
 
sureshs said:
Death threats are taken seriously.
Click to expand...
In the job i do, i have received numerous death threats. Doesn't bother me at all. If someone wants to kill me, my view is they are unlikely to tell me in advance so i put such threats down as not worth entertaining and the threats ive received were sent to my work place. Receiving them on social media is just not even threatening in my view.
 
You've now made everyone curious as to your career/job,

messiahrobins said:
In the job i do, i have received numerous death threats. Doesn't bother me at all. If someone wants to kill me, my view is they are unlikely to tell me in advance so i put such threats down as not worth entertaining and the threats ive received were sent to my work place. Receiving them on social media is just not even threatening in my view.
Click to expand...
 
messiahrobins said:
What is a trans woman? Thats a genuine question as ive never actually heard the term before. Ive heard the term Trans but never suffixed with woman as is that not a contradiction in terms?
Click to expand...

It is a woman who was presumed male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman. It is not a contradiction in terms we are told.
A landmark Australian Federal Court ruling in 2024 confirmed that a woman is anyone who identifies as a woman.
It is a very common term in America but perhaps less so in Australia.
:unsure:

A recent Australian Federal Court ruling, the case of Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd (No 2) [2024] FCA 960, clarified the meaning of "woman" in the context of Australia's Sex Discrimination Act.
This case involved a transgender woman, Roxanne Tickle, who was excluded from the Giggle app, which was marketed as a "women-only safe space".
 
Last edited:
All these sports 'celebs' {players that are good enough to get a lot of off court income as well as the day job}, are typically managed by agents like IMG.

You'd think they would have app-use protocols, to prevent any actual personal engagement, and probably including AI driven automatic information sharing with regulators for patterned abuse.

Surely no one actually engages directly with 'fans' nowadays? That's so 2010s.
 
You should always be anonymous on social media, if allowed by your government, but if you have to promote your brand then you can't afford to quit.

TheGoldenEra1990’s said:
Get off social media. Theres an idea. Where is this law written somewhere that you have to be on social media? You're just opening yourself up to this stuff. I never understood why anyone would want to air their dirty laundry on X or whatever
Click to expand...
 
Zardoz7/12 said:
Article

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches, as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.

Boulter, 28, shared her experiences in an interview with the BBC. The world number 39 received messages that read: "Hope you get cancer", "Candles and a coffin for your entire family", and "Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me".

"I just wonder who the person is that has sent that," Boulter said, looking at the "hope you get cancer" message.

"I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible."

The WTA and ITF study, which monitored 1.6 million posts and comments last year using Threat Matrix AI, are calling for the gambling industry to tackle those people responsible for the abuse more effectively.

"I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are," Boulter said.

"You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1934845966428918185

The WTA said 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threat last year and that action had been taken against the most serious and prolific cases, including 15 accounts escalated to law enforcement.

"Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure," American world number three Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players' Council, said in a statement.

"I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify and take action against the abusers, whose behaviour is so often linked to gambling. But it's not enough on its own.

"It's time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats."
Click to expand...
Makes one wonder about those odd losses where the better players were winning, especially players with children/spouses.
Threats have also become rampant in USA politics in recent times.
 
Always gamble what you can afford to lose. Never chase. Yeah, I know it's easy to say such a thing. Doing it is the key. Be like MJ - ''My wife didn't leave me because of gambling. I wasn't stealing lunch money from my children.''
 
Poisoned Slice said:
Always gamble what you can afford to lose. Never chase. Yeah, I know it's easy to say such a thing. Doing it is the key. Be like MJ - ''My wife didn't leave me because of gambling. I wasn't stealing lunch money from my children.''
Click to expand...

Well yeah that's common sense but it doesn't work that way in reality.

Gambling as a rule attracts people with poor self-control and addictive personality, among a myriad of other issues.

MJ had plenty of money to waste but even then his gambling addiction almost cost his Bulls the title shot in 1993 when they were playing Knicks in conference finals.
 
Better_Call_Raul said:
Betting buffoons bet on every player, not particularly her. She is just making drama and seeking attention.
Click to expand...
Death threats are not her making drama and tennis players shouldn’t have to avoid social media because of nut jobs. You should be ashamed of yourself for placing blame on her or any other players for threatening behavior by nut jobs. However, I forgive you (but I can’t speak for anyone else). :)

Please provide your valuable take on the “reimagined” US Open mixed doubles.
 
Everyone should avoid social media. They stopped being cool about a decade ago.
And discussion boards about two decades ago. : - )
 
TheGoldenEra1990’s said:
Get off social media. Theres an idea. Where is this law written somewhere that you have to be on social media? You're just opening yourself up to this stuff. I never understood why anyone would want to air their dirty laundry on X or whatever
Click to expand...
Social media are a lot more vicious than, say, 15 years ago. I remember seeing amateurish videos of somebody's child's first steps, for some long-distance grandparent to view. Like home movies. Then the rot set in.
 
Zardoz7/12 said:
Article

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches, as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.

Boulter, 28, shared her experiences in an interview with the BBC. The world number 39 received messages that read: "Hope you get cancer", "Candles and a coffin for your entire family", and "Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me".

"I just wonder who the person is that has sent that," Boulter said, looking at the "hope you get cancer" message.

"I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible."

The WTA and ITF study, which monitored 1.6 million posts and comments last year using Threat Matrix AI, are calling for the gambling industry to tackle those people responsible for the abuse more effectively.

"I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are," Boulter said.

"You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1934845966428918185

The WTA said 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threat last year and that action had been taken against the most serious and prolific cases, including 15 accounts escalated to law enforcement.

"Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure," American world number three Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players' Council, said in a statement.

"I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify and take action against the abusers, whose behaviour is so often linked to gambling. But it's not enough on its own.

"It's time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats."
Click to expand...
This is precisely why I loathe social media. There is no accountability. And online gambling is totally out of control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Jasmine Paolini splits with coach of 10 years and reveals her preference for he next coach
Replies
4
Views
856
octobrina10
octobrina10
Russeljones
Tennis umpires secretly banned over gambling scam
Replies
7
Views
2K
Sentinel
Sentinel
OddJack
Australian Open and Gambling
Replies
4
Views
2K
aphex
aphex
Aussie Darcy
  • Poll Poll
Is it time for the slams to allow the women to play Best of 5? Even at least in the SF or Final? (Poll in thread)
2
Replies
57
Views
4K
Airspun
Airspun
Pistol10
Serious doping test allegations!
Replies
1
Views
856
Djokodalerer31
Djokodalerer31
Back
Top