Carlos Alcaraz admits messages ‘can scare you’ as he discusses social media abuse

Carlos Alcaraz attends a tennis press conference
Carlos Alcaraz during a press conference

Carlos Alcaraz has revealed he has been the target of abusive social media messages as he revealed that comments can often “scare” players.

The issue of social media abuse for tennis players is back in the spotlight following WTA Tour star Katie Boulter’s recent interview with BBC Sport.

In the interview, the 28-year-old revealed some of the messages and comments she had received in the aftermath of her French Open loss, including threats involving her family.

However, she is unfortunately far from the only player to open up about death threats and abuse in recent weeks, with Jessica Pegula, Gael Monfils, and Linda Noskova among those speaking out.

Pegula and Noskova both shared on Instagram some of the abusive messages they have received, while Monfils posted a video online questioning why people thought it was appropriate to send such messages.

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Now, world No 2 Alcaraz has also revealed the impact abusive messages have had on him.

In quotes reported by Punto de Break, the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted to receiving ‘heavy’ messages after losses in the past.

“I receive them too. There are some really wild messages,” said Alcaraz.

“I’m not going to mention exactly some of the messages I’ve received, but they are very heavy and some even scare you.

“Obviously, when you lose, you receive a lot of messages. Some are quite good; others, quite bad. I prefer not to think about it.”

Discussions have raged in recent days about the best ways for players to handle abusive messages, and, perhaps more importantly, how social media and gambling companies can stamp out the issue.

Asked about how he preferred to handle social media abuse, Alcaraz admitted that he preferred not to look at messages when he had been beaten.

He added: “I learn when I lose not to look at social media so much, because sometimes when I did, when I lost a match in the first round or a match I shouldn’t have lost, I would see the message, yes, it affected me a lot. Sometimes it’s difficult to deal with it.

“So I’ve learned from experience that when I lose or things aren’t going very well, I don’t look at social media that much.

“Players, I’ve seen a lot of players who have received a lot of messages from players, from people. It’s the same, honestly, we have to live with it, but, you know, as professional athletes, we have to deal with it the best way we can.

“If I have to give advice, it’s not to look at social media when things aren’t going very well, because people can be really dangerous sometimes.”

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