"The girls get it way worse than the guys" - Jack Draper makes eye-opening remark about rampant online abuse from gamblers, laments lack of solutions
Jack Draper has called out the rampant online abuse directed at players, pointing out that their loved ones were often caught in the crossfire as well. The Brit also highlighted that WTA players endured a disproportionate amount of harassment from gamblers compared to their male counterparts.
Draper's concerns don't come as a surprise, as many players have condemned the relentless abuse on social media, which included death threats, harassment, and offensive comments that were typically triggered by gamblers angry over match outcomes.
Coco Gauff previously denounced these gamblers as "annoying" and shed light on her strategy of blocking their profiles. Meanwhile, Caroline Garcia recently revealed the hateful messages she received urging her to "kill herself" and insulting her mother, with the likes of Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins joining in to denounce the abuse and "poor behavior."
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Jack Draper reflected on the reaction to him winning his first professional match in 2018, recalling that he was labeled a "horrible" person while some trolls nearly managed to find his mother to target her with abuse.
The Brit also highlighted that, regardless of whether he won or lost, he received hundreds of such hateful messages with no effective way to combat them. Although Draper emphasized that all players faced these issues, he acknowledged that women "got it way worse" than male players.
"My first pro match in 2018, I think I won love and love [6-0, 6-0], and I was a horrible person – they were going to find my mum. It’s every match, whether you win or lose, you get hundreds of messages from people and you can’t really stop it," Jack Draper said.
"If I lose a match these days, just go on my latest Instagram account – you’ll probably see about 100 messages with clown emojis and snakes and all this sort of stuff. You can’t control it. Everyone has it, and especially the girls. The girls get it way worse than the guys," he added.
Jack Draper on his 'amazing moments' during the 2024 season: "I’ve learned to enjoy all the hard work and all the tough things that go with it"
During the same interview, Jack Draper opened up about experiencing "amazing moments" during the 2024 season, disclosing that he took more satisfaction in the hard work he had put in than the results.
The Brit explained that he had learned to appreciate the "tough" aspects of his journey, like the self-doubt and fears, which made his achievements feel more rewarding.
"I hear people say all the time that it’s not the achievement that feels great, it’s the process of the achievement. Going through all that; all the work, the doubts, the worries and the kind of like: ‘Am I going to do this? Am I going to that?’ It’s the actual work that you put in which is the enjoyable part," Jack Draper said.
"Looking back over this year, I’ve had some amazing moments that made me feel good, but I’ve also learned to enjoy all the hard work and all the tough things that go with it," he added.
Jack Draper achieved major career milestones during the 2024 season, winning his maiden tour-level title at the Boss Open in Stuttgart, clinching his first ATP 500 title at the Vienna Open, and ending the year with a career-high ranking of World No. 15.