Novak Djokovic & Aryna Sabalenka the most hated tennis players on social media, as per recent study

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka have reportedly received the largest amount of negative social media posts over a 16-month period. Roland Garros is now trying to suppress such negative posts for this year's tournament.

The World Sports Network recently measured "the social sentiment of tweets mentioning players in a negative light as well as the public’s reaction towards particular Facebook posts." On the ATP side, Novak Djokovic was found to have received the most negative tweets, at almost a one-to-five ratio (15%). On Facebook, the number was at 11%.

Next up was Stefanos Tsitsipas, with 15% of his Twitter comments being of negative sentiment and 7% of Facebook reactions being 'angry.' The Serb and the Greek were followed by Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Cameron Norrie.

On the WTA side, meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka received the most negative tweets at almost a one-to-five ratio (15%). On Facebook, the number was at 5%. Next up was Elena Rybakina, with 10% of her Twitter comments being of negative sentiment and 4% of Facebook reactions being 'angry.'

The Belarussian and the Khazakh were followed by Caroline Garcia, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula.

The French Open organizers have taken a leap for the 2023 edition of the event, which starts on May 28, in a bid to combat online abuse and cyberbullying. The French Tennis Federation (FFT), which runs Roland Garros, has revealed that the players will be offered artificial intelligence protection from social media abuse this year.

Through AI technology Bodyguard, comments that players receive on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok will be moderated in real-time. The responses will be analyzed in less than 200 milliseconds.

"As part of its strategy to take care of the players’ mental health, the FFT decided to collaborate with ‘Bodyguard’ to fight against cyberbullying," the FFT said in a statement.

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"Novak Djokovic is going to be a big contender for the French Open title if he doesn't have any issues" - Alex Corretja

2022 French Open - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

Former World No. 2 Alex Corretja has labeled Novak Djokovic a 'big contender' for the 2023 French Open.

Djokovic hasn't had the best start to the 2023 clay court season. However, his chances of winning the second Grand Slam of the year have increased with 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal pulling out of the tournament. The Spaniard is currently recovering from a hip injury.

"I think if Novak doesn't have any issues, I'm sure he's going to be a big contender for the title," Corretja said in a recent interview. "He knows how to win [at Roland-Garros], he has done it already twice and he has won so many majors, he knows how to deal with the pressure even though he didn't have an unbelievable clay-court season."

Novak Djokovic is bidding to win the third Roland Garros crown of his career. In 2022 the Serb lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal, 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7.