French Open organisers to offer players AI protection against online abuse

French Open organisers are to offer players at the tournament artificial intelligence-protection from social media abuse.

In the first initiative of its kind, the French Tennis Federation is using AI technology Bodyguard, which aims to filter out abusive comments on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Bodyguard can moderate comments in real time – with responses analysed in less than 200 milliseconds – and care will be taken about what is censored.

Tennis players have frequently highlighted the horrific messages they receive after losses, often from gamblers who have lost money betting on them.

“As part of its strategy to take care of the players’ mental health, the FFT decided to collaborate with Bodyguard to fight against cyberbullying,” the FFT said in a statement. “A team of linguists creates word patterns that enable the system to be updated in real time according to what is posted on social media, in order to generate a more contextual analysis.”

The technology will be used to protect all official FFT and Roland Garros social media accounts, as well as those of players who opt for it for the duration of the Grand Slam and at least a week after the tournament has ended.

“The mental health of the players is a priority for the Roland Garros tournament. We will not accept any form of violence at our tournament,” said Caroline Flaissier, director of the FFT. “We are very proud to be the first grand slam tournament to offer players a solution that efficiently protects them against cyberbullying.

“We want to protect the players from this damaging behaviour, to enable them to be in peak mental condition when they compete in the tournament.”