Caroline Garcia said she was subjected to online abuse following her first-round loss at the US Open. The French player on Wednesday blamed “unhealthy betting” as one of the main reasons players are attacked on social media.
Garcia, a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows 2022, lost 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday to unseeded Mexican Renata Zarazua, who had only reached the second round of a Grand Slam once before.
Garcia shared clips of the insults directed at her and her family on social media. The Frenchwoman also criticized social media for not adequately filtering insults.
“Social media platforms are not stopping this, even though AI is very advanced. Tournaments and sports continue to partner with betting companies that keep luring new people into unhealthy bets,” she wrote on Instagram.
“The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sport are long gone. And yet here we are sponsoring betting companies that are actively destroying some people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they should be banned.
“But maybe we shouldn’t encourage it. Besides, if someone says these things to me publicly, they could get into legal trouble. So why can we do anything on the Internet? Shouldn’t we think about anonymity on the Internet?”
Garcia said the messages hurt players, especially after a tough loss when they are “emotionally destroyed,” and she worried about how it affected younger players.
Garcia received support from her teammates, including world number one Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys, who thanked her for her vote.
American Jessica Pegula said: “The constant death threats and threats against the family are normal today, whether they win or lose.”
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff said there were times when she spent 30 minutes blocking abusive accounts on her social media, but people still created new ones.
“When you’re already struggling with your own mental health issues and then you have people getting in your way even more, it’s hard,” she told reporters.
“You can be having a good day and then someone literally says to you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself.’ And you think, ‘OK, thanks.'”
“Hopefully the AI stuff can help in the future.”
