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The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) and Sportradar have partnered to release Safe Sport, a service designed to tackle the abuse of professional tennis players online.
The service utilises several technologies and services, including AI, education, moderation and investigation, with the goal of protecting players. The technology will be available to the Top 250 ATP singles players and the Top 50-ranked doubles players, which will be free to them and designated on an opt-in basis.
The AI technology for Safe Sport has been supplied by Sportradar and its partner Arwen AI. The AI tool will scan players’ social media for abusive comments, bots and spam, automatically hiding flagged messages in 29 languages. Currently, Arwen AI processes 600,000 comments daily, protecting users on platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter) and TikTok.
At the same time, Sportradar’s intelligence analysts will investigate comments that hold threats or criminal content to find those responsible, bringing consequence to online actions.
Players will also have access to a range of educational materials on how to handle online abuse, while also maintaining online integrity and mitigating online risk.
On the launch, ATP Director of Safeguarding Andrew Azzopardi said: “The ATP is committed to safeguarding players and their wellbeing. This includes taking a proactive stance against online abuse, which has become a very important issue in the lives of modern athletes. This collaboration will ensure that tennis is playing its part in tackling this issue and shining a light on the effects that harmful online discourse can have on our communities.”
Sportradar Integrity Services EVP Andreas Krannich added: “We’re bringing together AI-driven auto-moderation, education and investigative services for the first time. The Safe Sport solution offers players better protection from online harm, representing a significant leap forward in safeguarding mental and physical wellbeing, enabling them to concentrate on delivering their best performances.”
The launch is part of Sportradar’s multi-year partnership with TDI which was announced in December, with Sportradar providing the ATP with data, streaming rights and media data rights for ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour.
Earlier this month, Sportradar also announced an expansion to its partnership with UEFA, and announced plans to present at the Regulating the Game 2025 conference in Sydney, giving a talk on ‘Effective Regulation Through Innovative Technological Solutions’.
