If tennis pros of the death is required

a 50-Grand-Slam-tournaments completed, is a reason to celebrate. You would think so at least. But the Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet did not want to talk about it after your departure at the French Open in Paris. Because they have never reached the quarter-final, was the anniversary of the "source of hate". You give always your Best, ' said the Frenchwoman, "but I have in the social networks, so many critics, and the people are really mean".

tennis professionals don't have to balls today, only powerful Topspins and feeling full Stop, but also the attacks from the Internet get away from it. Because Cornet is not an isolated case. the Belinda Bencic speaks of Thousands of messages, the you wars. "They come to every game, whether I won or lost." Sometimes people would insult from your Team.

After the Ostschweizerin was failed in April in Lugano surprisingly, the qualifier Antonia Lottner, the storm is particularly intense. Bencic decided to make some of the more innocuous messages to the public. As they had been, for example, by a bettor and asked him the lost money to repay. "I need the money", it was said there. "I need the money, can you pay me?" wrote back, the 22-Year-old with a wink.

Yeah me too can you pay me? https://t.co/Qw1XXKLTL1

— Belinda Bencic (@Belinda bencic) 9. April 2019

she didn't want to commiserate, especially since you've also got encouraging news explains Bencic. Christian Scherg, a well-known sports reputation Manager from Düsseldorf, welcomes Bencics approach to something Positive. "Any behaviour, which the Signal transmits, don't be intimidated, it is good to have because it's the aggressors, the satisfying sense of the athletes pain and anxiety, is denied." Bencic referred to it as a "crass, what all is written. I don't know what you can do about it, but the people from the associations need to know what's going on."

fortunately, are not take all threats seriously

Crass is putting it mildly. 2016 Heather Watson of the "New York Times" said, "there were people who threatened me and my family to kill, the other wanted me, that I am prone to cancer and a slow, painful death of suffering". And the Briton is not an isolated case. Scherg, supports the use of social media by a number of Bundesliga footballer, explains how it comes to such verbal outbursts of Violence: "It is a struggle for attention. Who commented the most, will be heard and won. The harder and more hurtful a comment is, the more attention he gets."

according to the Sharq is also a positive message: "In General, you do not need to take threats seriously." If the affect is a negative Emotion discharge, for example, in the case of someone who had lost a sports bet, then it was mostly harmless. "Dangerous to those who approach in the implementation of acts of violence is targeted. If so, there are indicators that someone preserved his negative emotions over a longer period of time and in detail and over a longer period of time with the circumstances of an athlete's busy, you have to be careful."

reactions in social media can influence the performance of an athlete is quite negative. According to Sharq athletes are aware of just after a failed game and to look, therefore, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, what has been posted. "It must not be forgotten that journalists consult these networks and the criticism voiced during recording," explains Scherg. "Will be taken up in the traditional media such a topic, this leads to a scandal-mongering spiral. First, there is an article about the poor performance, then a report on the hateful reactions in the network, and this report will then be commented on in the Internet in turn.

As of the reputative damage and psychological pain of the athlete is to be raised again." Roger Federer reads, therefore, after a defeat, neither of the messages in the social networks, texts in the classical media. "If you're already very disappointed, and then a negative reading, do you think you're a bad tennis player, or even a bad person," says the Superstar. It was not fun to be insulted, "but you have to be strong enough, so you hide it or displace can".

The rubbish to the professionals instead of the athletes dispose

sports reputation Manager Scherg referred to the Ignore in the psychological sense as a good remedy. "On the other hand, it must be ensured that the invective and threats are documented. And as the associations come into play, especially since we are dealing with crimes." The decision-makers in the ATP (men) and WTA (women) have now understood that they must take responsibility.

"Online-abuse of other players via Social Media channels is a Problem, and the ATP takes this matter very seriously. Unfortunately, this Problem will not disappear," said ATP spokesman Simon Higson. Amy Binder of the WTA says meanwhile: "The safety of players is our top priority. The WTA has experienced staff for athlete support and security and works Hand-in-Hand with the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). The game will be instructed to notify the WTA, if you have concerns about comments or images that have been published in social media."

The cooperation with the TIU is not about this unit, but mostly with betting fraud. And for a large part of the worse insults on Twitter and Facebook infuriated sports weather are responsible. Both the ATP and the WTA are working together now with Thesus, a company for risk assessment and risk management. "So we can get our game in Online harassment, provide special instructions, protective measures and additional support," says Binder.

The turret men GmbH cooperates in Germany with the sports federations. "Our strategy is that someone else disposed of for the athlete the verbal garbage professional, commented and – if legally relevant, documented. So, you can focus the player on his Sport," says managing Director, Sharq.

Basically, almost all the people are attacked by the public interest, sometimes on the Internet, but Scherg says, women had it in the net harder than men, "because it is assumed that they are significantly emotional and vulnerable. Athletes are often even more vulnerable as athletes because you post on social media more Personal." Add to this that there are many poor men, which of frustration to reduce rations by trying to humiliate anonymous, or at least from a safe distance, women sexually.

no Option

Federer is Off for most of the is affected by invective rarer than others, and this is hardly a coincidence. "It may be that the reactions be low. I have proved myself in the last 20 years, the people don't know that I will lose on purpose", expresses a presumption. "If the personality is clear, that to me insults affect large, the risk of becoming a victim of Online harassment, much smaller," explains Scherg. A large fan base acting also as a protective wall, because the offenders were in the minority. In the case of Federer, this wall is thick; it has at Twitter, over 12.5 million Followers, and Facebook more than 14.5 million subscribers.

Others have not. The canadian Rebecca Marino had to be interrupted due to the hostilities of their career, the American Taylor waived Townsend during one and a half years on the use of social media by Trolls and haters to stay away. For Bencic, the is out of the question. "In any case. Even if I weren't a tennis player, I would have a Instagram profile. I'm not sad, and not take these insults personally."

Also from an economic point of view, it is for the majority of tennis professionals is not an Option, to do without Facebook and co., because many of the sponsors will expect you to use the range in their favor. "In principle it would be possible, not even in social media, which is contrary to that well-known athletes are strong own brands. This is true for Tennis, especially, but also in football. It comes to advertising contracts and, indeed, to income-earning opportunities," says Scherg. And adds: "Social networks are a marketing tool, on the other hand, are on the one hand, the greatest weakness of the athlete, because they allow a Person on the Internet is explicitly attacked."

This Text is from the current issue. Now all of the articles in the E-Paper of the Sunday newspaper, read: App for iOS App for Android – Web-App (editor-in-Tamedia)

Created: 02.06.2019, 09:45 PM