Osaka most abused player in last year, Djokovic 2nd after deportation

February 6, 2022

Andy Murray, ATP Tennis Players, Emma Raducanu, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

Naomi Osaka most abused player of past 12 months, Novak Djokovic second after Australian Open deportation

According to a study, Naomi Osaka received a total of 32,000 abusive tweets, making her the most abused player of the last year, whilst Novak Djokovic would be second after his Australian Open deportation.

Whilst elite sportspeople enjoy the highs the professional sporting world can offer, they also have to endure the downsides. With the love and adoration of huge fanbases, in the age of social media such limelight also brings negative attention and swathes of online abuse.

A recent study conducted by betting website Pickswise found the 20 most abused players of the past 12 months. A total of approximately 100,000 tweets were collected, collated and analysed.

The data was collected from January 2021 to December 2021 and included tweets which contained the use of words, phrases and tags that were recognised as abusive.

Pickswise aimed to highlight the levels of online abuse directed at tennis players in an attempt to get social media companies to combat online trolls and abuse.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka topped the list with a total of 32,415 abusive tweets directed at her.

This comes after she announced she wouldn’t take participate in French Open press conferences, before completely withdrawing from both the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. Osaka later revealed that she had been suffering periods of depression and anxiety.

All of the top five received more than 10,000 abusive tweets. Serena Williams, Andy Murray Emma Raducanu and Novak Djokovic form the rest of the top five.

Whilst outside of the initial date range, 20-time Slam champion Djokovic received an additional 7,354 abusive tweets following his deportation and anti-vaccination stance. With these figures included, Djokovic would move up to second on the list.

See below which players form the rest of the top 20 most abused players of the past year: