How big the problem really is was already apparent immediately before the Paris Tennis Grand Slam tournament. This year, for the first time, those responsible at Roland Garros are offering all players software that uses artificial intelligence to protect against cyberbullying in real time. The active people only have to download them. This is to protect your social media channels as best as possible. The goal is to use artificial intelligence to protect and maintain the mental health of players while preventing cyberbullying.
An international top player who has been particularly affected by racist insults in her social media channels for a long time is the American Sloane Stephens. “Yes, that was obviously a problem throughout my career. It never stopped. If anything, it only got worse,” she said after her first-round win in Paris against Czech Karolina Pliskova (6-0, 6-4).
Instagram story about hate mail
A topic that the now 30-year-old visibly upsets. After all, she is a burned child. In 2021, in a mixture of anger, horror and outrage, she posted screenshots of hate messages she had received through her social media channels in an Instagram story. There were more than 2,000 messages of abuse and anger, Stephens wrote at the time. “This kind of hate is so tiring and never ends. It’s not talked about enough,” she said of the slurs at the time.
Sloane Stephen’s greatest triumph: the US Open victory in 2017
Stephens then made it clear once again what extent these hostilities still have. “Yeah, I mean, if there’s an FBI investigation going on about what people are saying to you online, that’s very serious,” she said.
Technical aids against cyberbullying are hardly sufficient
In the meantime, attention to this topic seems to have increased – at least as far as the tournament in Paris is concerned. But Stephens wants to fight this fight alone for now.
She would have heard of the possibility, but would not (yet) use the software. The 2017 US Open winner continues to try to act in a conventional way. “Obviously I’ve banned a lot of keywords on Instagram and all that stuff. But that doesn’t stop anyone from just typing an asterisk or spelling the word differently, which of course most of the time the software doesn’t notice,” she said in a mixture of despondency and disappointment.
An effective solution to racist cyberbullying seems a long way off. Despite all possible help, Stephens is under no illusions. “It’s something I’ve had to deal with my whole career and I’m sure I’ll continue to deal with it. That’s it,” Stephens said with a shrug.