Tennis-Tennis governing bodies aim to combat online abuse of players

Facebook and TikTok apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo

(Reuters) - The major governing bodies of tennis on Wednesday said they will aim to protect their athletes from online abuse by monitoring, reporting and helping to identify who is behind threats and other inappropriate contact.

The ITF, WTA, AELTC and USTA will use the Threat Matrix service to monitor players' public-facing social media for abusive and threatening content on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok beginning Jan. 1.