NEW YORK – While sports betting is becoming more and more part of everyday life, cyberbullying remains a major problem for professional tennis players like Coco Gauff and others.
The reigning US Open champion admitted after her victory in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday evening that she often receives hate messages on X/Twitter.
“You can be having a good day and then someone literally tells you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself.’ And you think, ‘Okay, thanks,'” said the third-seeded Gauff after her 6-4, 6-0 win over Germany’s Tatjana Maria at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She added: “It’s hard because you hear a lot of nasty things and people talk about how you look, how your family looks and all those things. When you’re already struggling with your own mental health issues and then you have people digging deeper, it’s hard.”
Gauff’s solution is simple.
“Personally, I just block,” she said. “I’m someone who literally spends 30 minutes blocking everyone. I really don’t care. I know on Twitter it’s a small, insignificant thing because I’ve blocked so many people. They say you say anything and they block you. Yes, I do. I don’t want to see it, so bye-bye…”
“I have no right to read negative things about me. Just as you have the right to write such things, I have the right to block it. This is unfortunate. Of course, blocking cannot solve everything. People create new accounts.
“Just for players, I don’t know. I just try not to read into it so much or take it too personally, but it’s getting to the point where, you know, I know a lot of tournaments are trying to step in and put in different AI things. I’m hoping that as the technology evolves that can help.”
Gauff was responding to a question about fellow professional Caroline Garcia, who lost her first-round match on Tuesday and is ranked fourth in the world.
With sports bettors placing more and more money on the outcome of games, Garcia posted that she recently received messages saying, “You should think about killing yourself” and “I hope your mother dies soon.”
“I know that those who write these horrible messages will not change because of this,” Garcia wrote at the end of a lengthy message. “But maybe the next time you see a post from an athlete, singer or other person who has failed or lost, you will remember that he or she is also a human being doing the best they can in life.”
Editor’s Note: NJ Advance Media typically limits coverage of suicides to cases that occur in crowded public places, involve public figures, or have special circumstances that create a greater public impact. Suicidal thoughts and behavior can be reduced with proper mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and college basketball in New Jersey for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @Subscribe and visit his website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
