Heather hit by vile Twitter abuse
HEATHER Watson was targeted by vile Twitter trolls after she was knocked out of Wimbledon yesterday in her first-round match.
The British number two was subjected to expletive-ridden abuse and comments about her weight. She is among several stars who have told of the increasing problem of abuse on social media.
One post read: ‘That Heather Watson wants to go on a crash diet or she’ll win **** all… hardly recognised her there… size of a bus #fatso.’
Another Twitter user wrote that Watson should find a new career as ‘tennis isn’t working out’, while a third just said ‘ **** off’.
But Watson, 24, who lost to Germany’s Annika Beck after the match was delayed by rain, remained defiant, telling a post-match press conference: ‘They’re not brave enough to say it in person. That’s why they hide behind a computer.’
Earlier this week South African Kevin Anderson, the world number 25, said he had received ‘death threats’ on social media after losing at Wimbledon from people who bet on his match.
Yesterday Watson, from Guernsey, who has in the past also received gamblingrelated death threats, said women were more likely to suffer such online abuse. She said she tried not to read Twitter after a defeat because she knew the kind of comments she was likely to see.
She added: ‘What can you do? There’s always going to be people saying stuff. It comes with it. You’ve just got to deal with it.’ Johanna Konta, 25, Britain’s women’s number one, has also told this week of the vicious comments she has received. She said: ‘It’s unfortunate that it exists. I think it’s important to not read it, to not pay attention to it where you can. If it’s anything that affects the integrity of the sport, it’s important to contact the right people about it. Otherwise, if you do read it, make sure you read it when you’re in good spirits and you can laugh about it because otherwise, yeah, it can ruin your day.’
The Tennis Integrity Unit, the sport’s anticorruption group, helps players deal with the abuse. It doesn’t comment on individual cases, but a spokesman yesterday said the unit ‘works closely with players who are subject to abuse, or threats, related to betting on social media’.
The spokesman added: ‘That can include contacting the social media organisation on behalf of the player to report the abuse and get it removed, through to reporting incidents, where appropriate, to law enforcement agencies.’
The Women’s Tennis Association said player security is its ‘number one priority’ and it employs specially trained ‘athlete assistance and security personnel’.
A spokesman said: ‘Any player who has concerns about comments, images or messages posted on social media knows to notify the WTA, which has processes in place to provide players appropriate support and guidance to manage these concerns, including, if appropriate, notifying the social media companies and local authorities.’