French tennis player Alice Tubello filed a complaint in Paris on Friday, September 6, for cyberbullying, after she received more than 300 hateful messages from sports bettors following a defeat in Peru in August, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned on Saturday from a source close to the case. Her complaint, which AFP has learned of, was also filed for identity theft: a fake Facebook page, since closed, was attributed to her and presented her father as a pedophile.
The 219e The 23-year-old world number one player took part in the Arequipa tennis tournament in Peru in August, where she lost to Peruvian Dana Guzman. This defeat triggered a wave of hatred against her from sports bettors, she initially denounced on his social networks then in his complaint, filed by his lawyers Robin Binsard and Julien Desmolin with the Paris public prosecutor’s office.
Contacted by AFP, she castigated “recurring abuses with sports betting, sponsors of the world tennis organization”. “Whether it’s a win or a loss, every time after a match I get hateful messages”she testified. “I’ve even had punters come behind the fence of my land.”she confides. “Security has increased at tournaments, but there is still this phenomenon of online abuse under the cover of anonymity.”
The content of the fake Facebook page, fueled by posts presenting his father as “a pedophile” or racist messages, particularly offended the player. “They have affected my family, I will not give up”she assured, hoping that investigators can identify and arrest the perpetrators.
Caroline Garcia, a US Open semi-finalist and 2022 Masters winner, also denounced hate messages targeting her on social media in late August: “I hope your mother dies”, “You should think about suicide”… “It worries me for the young players who come in and have to deal with this kind of thing.”she said about this phenomenon now known in the world of sport, and particularly in tennis. “Tournaments continue to partner with sports betting companies that continue to draw people into gambling addiction. (…). We continue to promote these companies that destroy the lives of certain people.”she protested.
