Nick Kyrgios, tennis world condemn ‘disgusting’ death threats

Caroline Garcia’s social media post has seemingly started a movement with the who’s who of the tennis world jumping on board.

Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios has gone into bat alongside former world No. 4 Caroline Garcia, who shared some of the horrible messages she’s received after losses.

Currently at world No. 30, Garcia was knocked out in the first round to Mexican world No. 92 Renata Zarazua in a 6-1 6-4 thrashing.

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While the Frenchwoman would no doubt be disappointed, particularly after going all the way to the semi-final in New York in 2022, the 30-year-old has copped a torrent of abuse after being knocked out of the tournament.

Garcia hit out at “unhealthy betting”, which drives the social media abuse of players.

Garcia has won 11 WTA titles in her career but has struggled in grand slams, having only reached the French Open quarters in 2017 and US Open semis in 2022 as deep runs.

On Wednesday, Garcia shared a few messages she’s received recently after losing matches.

They included: “You should consider (gun emoji) yourself”, “I hope your mom dies soon”, “A clown belongs in the circus” and “You are a piece of s**t” among other messages of hate.

She added they were just a few, “there’s hundreds”.

“I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not OK,” Garcia wrote.

“It really worries me when I think about younger players coming up, that have to go through this. People that still haven’t yet developed fully as a human and that really might be affected by this hate.

“Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive this messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging.

“Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made.”

Garcia was a first round casualty of the US Open. Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images/AFP

Garcia called out the practice of the sport and tournaments partnering with betting companies, wondering if it contributed to a rise in such abuse.

“Tournaments and the sport keeps partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting,” Garcia said.

“The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they should be banned as people are free to do whatever they want with their money. But maybe we should not promote them.

“Also, if someone decided to say this things to me in public, he could have legal issues. So why online we are free to do anything? Shouldn’t we reconsider anonymity online?”

The rise of online abuse for athletes has been forefront of the mind for many organisations with various tools having been tested.

At the 2022 French Open, the tournament partnered with an AI company to filter the players’ social media accounts, while Wimbledon has also launched a social media monitoring service.

The impassioned post has drawn the attention of plenty of fellow players.

Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who is no stranger to social media abuse, commented: “This is disgusting behaviour. Head up Caro.”

Kyrgios previously revealed death threats of his own, exposing the messages on Instagram.

Kyrgios has praised Garcia’s stance. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Former tennis star Monica Puig added: “Stay strong — ️ I know it’s never easy but they don’t know the day in and day outs of our lives and we all have your back.”

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek quote tweeted the post, adding: “Thank you for this voice.”

Ons Jabeur wrote: “Thank you Caro for speaking up. It’s becoming frustrating for most of us when we lose any match. Lets all stick together to fight this tragedy. Full support.”

Defending US Open champion Coco Gauff said she hadn’t seen Garcia’s post, but she’d been on the receiving end of similar messages.

“It is tough, and you could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself,’” Gauff said.

“You’re, like, ‘OK, thanks,’” added the 20-year-old American, who said her solution to “nasty” comments is to block anyone posting them.

“I’m someone, I will literally spend 30 minutes blocking all the people,” she said. “They are like ‘You say anything and she blocks. Yes, I do! I don’t want to see it so bye.”

Coco Gauff has also had enough. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP

American Jessica Pegula, ranked sixth in the world, was among players posting in support of Garcia.

“The constant death threats and family threats are normal now,” Pegula wrote. “Win or lose.”

World No. 20 men’s star Frances Tiafoe also commented.

“I get it. I’ve been getting cooked for a long time. It’s never good,” he said.

“You know, you have players working all their lives trying to compete at the highest level. You don’t know peoples circumstances, what they’re going through, and how this affects people.

“The biggest thing I would tell players, other colleagues, men, women… these people are going to follow your life regardless. Don’t hang your head so low on these things. They follow your life. You don’t care about anything they do. They’ll continue to follow your life. You’re the important person.

“Be more upset about the loss or tough time you’re actually going through. Don’t let your mood get even worse because of people you don’t know and don’t care about their opinions that put you in the gutter. It’s already hard enough.”

With AFP

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios, tennis world condemn ‘disgusting’ death threats