French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse

PARIS: French tennis player Alice Tubello has filed a complaint over online abuse from sports bettors following 300 hateful messages she received after a recent defeat, a source close to the case told AFP on Saturday.

The 23-year-old´s complaint to Paris prosecutors also denounced identity theft after a false Facebook page, now closed, was created in her name and posted slurs targeting her family.

The 219-ranked player said she received a torrent of abuse after losing in the quarter-finals in Arequipa, Peru, last month to local player Dana Guzman.

Tubello claimed the defeat triggered a wave of hatred from sports bettors through her social media accounts.

Contacted by AFP, Tubello slammed "recurring abuses with sports betting, sponsors of the world tennis organisation".

"Whether it´s a victory or a defeat, every time after a match, I receive hate messages," she said.

"I´ve even had punters come behind the fence on my property.

"Security has increased at tournaments, but there is still this phenomenon of online abuse under the cover of anonymity."

The content of the fake Facebook page, presenting her father as "a paedophile" or publishing racist messages, were particularly distressing.

"They touched my family, I will not give up," she insisted, hopeful that investigators can identify and arrest those involved.

Fellow French tennis player Caroline Garcia also recently shared some of the disparaging messages she has received in the wake of defeats, citing "unhealthy betting" as a driver of social media abuse of players.

After her US Open first round defeat, Garcia shared "just a few" of the messages, including one telling her to shoot herself and another saying "I hope your mom dies soon".

"Tournaments and the sport keeps partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting," former world number four 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."