LONDON (AP) — The All England Club is monitoring social media to try to help protect players at Wimbledon from cyberbullying for the first time this year.
“This is not something you’ll see in the public domain at all. You won't see us shout about it. But effectively, we are scrolling social media for any of this type of content, and it means that we can get information that we haven't had in the past. We’re not just relying on what the player might be saying has happened to them,” tournament director Jamie Baker said Friday. “Also, if there is something that is of concern, that’s when our security (team) … can help do something about it.”
Baker said the new initiative is similar to what the French Tennis Federation did during the French Open last year, when it began paying a company to provide players with software that uses artificial intelligence to block negative comments.
“Tennis is doing a lot more of this now, so I think in general, for the athletes, it’s really positive that we’re taking this step,” said Baker, a former player.
He said AI plays a role in the All England Club's efforts in this area, but people also are involved in keeping an eye on what's being directed at competitors online during the two-week Grand Slam tournament that finishes on July 14.
Players can opt in for the service and choose to have full scans of what is being posted on social media. Messages can include anger expressed by gamblers who lost money on a particular match, racist comments and even sometimes rise to the level of death threats, players say.
“The basis of it is if they’ve got anything that we think is a concern or worth flagging, ultimately, it's engaging with the player," Baker said. "The benefit of having it is, you do have the ability to ... officially register what's going on."
After a discussion with the player, the tournament could reach out to the police, if deemed necessary, although Baker declined to say whether that has happened yet.
“I guess, if it got to a point where there was any type of criminal activity,” law enforcement authorities would be brought in, Baker said, adding: “But that would be out of our hands. We'd obviously pass that on. ... But we’re not obviously stepping in and becoming the police.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Spectators look at the order of play on day eight of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 6, 2021. This year's Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, July 1.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
FILE - Spectators sit under an umbrella on a covered court after rain delayed the start of play on day three of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. This year's Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, July 1.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Security guards are shown at the gate in front of Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, after the 2020 tennis championships were canceled due to the coronavirus, in Wimbledon, London, Monday, June 29, 2020. This year's Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, July 1. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Stewards prepare for the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, June 30, 2019. This year's Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, July 1.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
MATAGORDA, Texas (AP) — Power outages are mounting along the Texas coast after Beryl came ashore Monday and lashed Houston with heavy rains and powerful winds as the storm moved inland.
More than 1 million homes and businesses were without power hours after Beryl made landfall, according to CenterPoint Energy in Houston. High waters quickly began to close streets across Houston and flood warnings were in effect across a wide stretch of the Texas coast.
The National Weather Service expected Beryl to weaken to a tropical storm Monday and a tropical depression Tuesday, forecasting a turn to the northeast and increase in speed Monday night and Tuesday. The storm reached the U.S. after leaving a trail of destruction over the last week in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The storm's center hit land as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 a.m. about 85 miles southwest of Houston with top sustained winds of 80 mph (128.7 kph) while moving north at 12 mph (19.3 kph), the National Weather Service reported. On Monday morning, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).
High waters quickly began closing roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings after heavy storms in recent months washed out neighborhoods and knocked out power across the nation’s fourth-largest city.
More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at Houston’s two airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware.
Beryl dumped soaking rains across Houston after coming ashore and was expected to bring damaging winds into East Texas, near Louisiana, as the storm pushed north after making landfall.
“Beryl’s moving inland but this is not the end of the story yet,” said Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl strengthened and became a hurricane again late Sunday. The storm had weakened after leaving a path of deadly destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay north to Port Bolivar, the center said.
The storm's center is expected to move over eastern Texas on Monday and then through the lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather service said.
People on the Texas coast boarded up windows and left beach towns under an evacuation order. As the storm neared the coast Sunday, Texas officials warned of power outages and flooding but also expressed worry that not enough residents and beach vacationers in Beryl’s path had heeded warnings to leave.
“One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we’ve looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is travelling overseas. “So we don’t see many people leaving.”
Tropical storm winds extended 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center and the hurricane center warned residents to be prepared for possible flash flooding in parts of middle, upper and eastern Texas as well as Arkansas as the storm gradually turns to the north and then northeast later Monday.
Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took the typical storm precautions but also expressed uncertainty about the storm’s intensity.
In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May fastened plywood over the windows of his electrical supply company and said he wasn’t concerned about the possible storm surge. He recalled his business had escaped flooding in a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot (6-meter) storm surge.
“In town, you know, if you’re in the low-lying areas, obviously, you need to get out of there,” he said.
At the nearby marina, Percy Roberts showed his neighbor Ken Waller how to properly secure his boat as heavy winds rolled in from the bay Sunday evening.
“This is actually going to be the first hurricane I’m going to be experiencing,” Waller said, noting he is a little nervous but feels safe following Roberts’ lead. “Pray for the best but expect the worst, I guess.”
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the Atlantic’s record warmth.
Three times during its one week of life, Beryl has gained 35 mph (56 kph) in wind speed in 24 hours or less, the official weather service definition of rapid intensification.
Beryl’s explosive growth into an unprecedented early whopper of a storm indicates the hot water of the Atlantic and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the rest of the storm season, experts said.
Texas officials warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind. The hurricane warning extended from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.
Beryl lurked as another potential heavy rain event for Houston, where storms in recent months have knocked out power across the nation’s fourth-largest city and flooded neighborhoods. A flash flood watch was in effect for a wide swath of the Texas coast, where forecasters expected Beryl to dump as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in some areas.
Potential storm surges between 4 and 7 feet (1.22 and 2.13 meters) above ground level were forecast around Matagorda. The warnings extended to the same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey came ashore in 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane, far more powerful than Beryl’s expected intensity by the time the storm reaches landfall.
Those looking to catch a flight out of the area found a closing window for air travel as Beryl moved closer. Hundreds of flights from Houston’s two major commercial airports were delayed by midafternoon Sunday and dozens more canceled, according to FlightAware data.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had sent emergency responders, search-and-rescue teams, bottled water and other resources along the coast.
Several coastal counties called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding. Local officials also banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Beryl battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane last week, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
Before hitting Mexico, Beryl wrought destruction in Jamaica, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. Associated Press reporters Margery A. Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Julie Walker in New York contributed.
An oil tanker heads out to open water as surfers take advantage of waves ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival in Port Aransas, Texas, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Sherry Cothron and Jimmy May board windows as they prepare for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Ed Campbell works to secure his boat as he prepares for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. Although Beryl remained a tropical storm Sunday as it churned toward Texas, it threatened to potentially regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Leo Cardin walks past a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. Beryl is hurtling across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Workers with the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees remove lifeguard towers from the beach near 57th Street in Galveston, Texas on Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl churns toward the Texas Coast. The storm is expected to make landfall near Matagorda Bay early Monday morning. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
A message for Beryl is left on a boarded up business, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Rock Port, Texas, as the storm moves closer to the Texas coast. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
People watch waves crash into the 37th Street rock groin in Galveston, Texas on Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl churns toward the Texas Coast. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Doan Vu, right, and Luan Nguyen, left, board up windows as they prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Luan Nguyen boards up windows as he helps prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall. Landfall was expected early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Doan Vu, left, and Luan Nguyen, right, board up windows as they prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Clyde George, left, and his son Chris George board up their home ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Beryl on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port O'Connor, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A man walks his dog near a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Leo Cardin walks past a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Richard Alcazar stacks sandbags in front of the door at Atmosphere The Salon & Beyond in Galveston, Texas, Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl heads toward the Texas coast. Alcazar, a barber at the salon, prepared the doors for any possible flooding from the storm. ( Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Blake Braun loads his dog Dolly into his family's vehicle as outer bands from Tropical Storm Beryl begin to hit the coast Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port O'Connor, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
