By Basant El-Faramawy
British tennis player Jodie Burrage has received death threats and a barrage of abusive messages on social media following her first-round defeat at the Chennai Open. The 27-year-old, ranked 474th in the world, lost to India's Vaishnavi Adkar 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in her first WTA Tour singles main-draw match since July 2023.
Abuse shared on Instagram
Burrage posted a video scroll of direct messages she received after the match on her Instagram story, writing: "Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left." The messages included explicit death threats and personal insults.
Fellow players show solidarity
Germany's Eva Lys expressed support for Burrage, tagging the WTA on Instagram and asking: "When will something be done?" The WTA's player board has previously condemned such abuse as "unacceptable" and warned of its "significant" impact on players.
Persistent problem in women's tennis
A report from the Signify Group earlier this year revealed that female tennis players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2025, a figure similar to 2024. The data showed that angry gamblers accounted for 42% of verified abuse in 2025 and 59% of serious abuse cases. In 2025, British player Katie Boulter also disclosed receiving death threats, prompting calls for identity verification on social media platforms.
