Online hate directed at tennis players is an issue that has been growing day by day. In fact, a significant portion of abusive messages originates from angry gamblers. According to a report published by an artificial intelligence-led detection system, angry gamblers are behind 48% of the 12,000 social media posts that have been deemed abusive towards the players in 2024. Tennis stars like Sloane Stephens previously highlighted how she had received “2,000-plus messages of abuse/anger” after her exit from the 2021 US Open. Jessica Pegula described “constant death threats” and “family threats” as being “normal now.” Last year, even Caroline Garcia pointed to “unhealthy betting” behind players getting frequently targeted these days. Now, her compatriot also joins that list, highlighting the dark side of tennis.

In 2024, Caroline Garcia came up with a lengthy social media post stating, “You could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, ‘Oh, go k*ll yourself.’ You’re, like, ‘OK, thanks.’” She gave a few examples, which included even death wishes for her mom. She claimed, “Tournaments and the sport keep partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting.” Although the tennis organizations came up with different programs to monitor posts on social media and introduced the ‘Threat Matrix’ service, it still seems this problem is far from over.

The 24-year-old French tennis player, Hugo Gaston, recently gave an interview with Eurosport, and during that interview, he was asked to share his experiences of being a victim of social media hatred. In response the Frenchman said, “These are things that don’t really affect me. It’s unfortunate to have come to this. The guy bet 5,000 euros that I would win my first service game… You think they’re completely crazy. I see them, but I don’t pay attention. But obviously, there are some who have different personalities and who will take it more to heart. I’m thinking in particular of young people who arrive on the tour and who are insulted like that… I handle it pretty well.“

While sharing a few examples of the level of threats he has received in the last few years, he said, “‘You piece of sh-t, you’re useless, stop playing tennis. I hope you get hurt.’ Again, I don’t really watch. I see some going on like ‘I hope you d*e with your whole family crushed under a train .’ You think to yourself, ‘F-ck, they’re coming up with an idea…’ They’re crazy.”

This has been a constant issue in the tennis world, even the players seem to have no answer about when these things are going to end eventually. But amid all these, Hugo Gaston is all set to take part in this ‘Home Slam‘. Which is his favorite memory from this tournament, though?

French tennis star Hugo Gaston recalls a few moments from the 2020 French Open

The 2020 French Open was a very special tournament for Hugo Gaston. He received a wildcard into the main draw of that tournament and was given an opportunity to turn his form around, and guess what? He grabbed that opportunity with both hands! He defeated the 2015 French Open champion, Stan Wawrinka in the third round by 2-6,6-3,6-3,4-6,6-0. Gaston had never won an ATP Tour match before the 2020 French Open. Following his incredible victory against Wawrinka, he said, “It’s fantastic. It was a great match. I’m very happy today. Before, I was always watching this on TV. Today I can play on these courts, so it’s amazing for me.” 

With that win, he became the lowest-ranked man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for 18 years. He was over the moon after securing his place in the R16 and called it a “dream“. Then in the fourth round, he came up against the two-time finalist (2018,2019) Dominic Thiem. Although he lost that match to Thiem by 4-6,4-6,7-5,6-3,3-6, Gaston had attempted 58 drop shots in that match and won 40 of those points. Almost 5.6 million French tuned in to watch that match against the Austrian, which was then the highest for any match at the tournament.

Following that incredible tennis match, Thiem said Gaston’s drop shots “were from another planet“.  After that defeat, the Frenchman revealed his goal, saying, “The goal is to get into the Top 100 as soon as possible.” Currently, he is ranked 74th in the world, and he is all set to start his campaign against a qualifier or a lucky loser at the 2025 French Open. Hugo Gaston has a chance of facing Ben Shelton in the second round. So, there is a real challenge ahead of this Frenchman at his home Slam.

But before kick-starting his campaign here, he showcased his excitement for this mega clay court event in that same interview with Eurosport. He also recalled a few moments of his matches against Wawrinka and Thiem from the 2020 French Open by saying, “The match against (Stanislas) Wawrinka. My first victory against such a player. He was in the top 20 (No. 16) . I also think of the match against (Dominic) Thiem (No. 3), despite the defeat. I was down two sets to zero, I managed to come back to two all. I was really close to winning in the fifth set. It was still a crazy moment. At that moment, I was, I think, 200th in the world (239th). It pushes you to want to come back.“

He believes he has improved a lot since his heroics at the 2020 French Open. But can this tennis star yet again make an impressive run at Roland Garros?