Who's Protecting Tennis Players? WTA's Lindsay Brandon on Online Abuse, Gambling & More

Join 4-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters and tennis reporter Blair Henley as they sit down with WTA Director of Safeguarding & Integrity Lindsay Brandon for an inside look at the fight to protect tennis players. Brandon reveals how the WTA's Threat Matrix program identifies online abusers, why angry gamblers are responsible for much of the harassment, and how betting platforms are beginning to ban offenders. The trio discusses recent online abuse targeting Coco Gauff and Iva Jovic, safeguarding concerns involving coaches and families, and the challenges of holding social media platforms accountable. Plus, Kim reflects on how player safety has evolved since her time on tour and what still needs to change. Welcome to Love All! If you want to hang out with us behind the scenes follow us on all of our socials: https://www.instagram.com/loveallpodcast/ https://www.tiktok.com/@loveallpodcast  https://x.com/loveallpodcast  ⏰ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Welcome to Love All 0:20 Jannik Sinner hires Magnus Norman 4:32 Sinner's return & Juan Carlos Ferrero's coaching future 5:46 Lindsay Brandon, WTA’s Director of Safeguarding & Integrity joins Love All 8:46 Why the WTA created a safeguarding department 11:10 Monitoring abuse from coaches, parents & team members 14:07 Protecting players who don't recognize abusive relationships 18:16 How the WTA investigates concerns & anonymous reports 23:07 Holding coaches accountable & enforcing safeguarding standards 26:16 Kim reflects on player safety during her career 28:19 Why reports of abuse are increasing on the WTA Tour 31:02 Lindsay's role in anti-doping & player education 32:55 Threat Matrix: How the WTA fights online abuse 36:48 How players are protected from abusive messages 39:45 Threat Matrix results: Removing serious online abusers 40:47 How abusive posts and accounts get removed 43:48 Why aren't social media platforms doing more? 46:26 The Bad Actor Program: Banning abusive gamblers 49:57 Holding betting platforms accountable 52:24 The challenges of stopping international gamblers 54:23 Sports betting revenue vs. player safety 57:20 Why lower-ranked players may be more vulnerable to online abuse 1:00:04 Can the WTA actually stop online harassment? 1:06:41 Kim & Blair react to the WTA's player protection efforts 1:09:48 Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices