WTA tackles harassment in tennis

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is increasing its efforts to address harassment against female players, focusing especially on gamblers and online abuse, according to Lindsay Brandon, the director of protection and integrity at the WTA.

Rise in reported cases

Brandon discussed this issue on the podcast Love All, hosted by Kim Clijsters and Blair Henley on October 28. She stated that her department handled 114 cases in 2026, compared to 78 in the entire year of 2025. These cases involve various forms of harassment, including from gamblers who target players after losing bets.

Gamblers as main source of abuse

Brandon noted that most of the abusive behavior comes from angry gamblers who bet not only on tennis but also on other sports. This aligns with a WTA report from July 2026, which found that 42% of abusive messages in 2025 were related to sports betting. The percentage rose to 59% for the most severe cases of abuse.

New tools to combat abuse

To address this, the WTA is using Threat Matrix, a social media monitoring system, and the Bad Actor Program. This program allows partner betting operators to identify users responsible for abusive messages and block them from betting. Recently, Fanatics Sportsbook joined this initiative.

Investigating in-person abuse

In addition to online harassment, the WTA is also looking into potential abusive behavior within the physical environment of players. Brandon suggested that the increase in reported cases in 2026 might be due to better identification and more frequent reporting of issues, rather than a rise in actual incidents.