Britain’s Jodie Burrage is receiving support from WTA staff at the Chennai Open after she was sent death threats on social media. The abuse followed her 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat by India’s Vaishnavi Adkar on Tuesday, in Burrage’s first WTA Tour singles main-draw match in 16 months.
Burrage shared screenshots of direct messages on Instagram and wrote: “Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left.” She tagged the WTA and asked when action would be taken to address online abuse. Germany’s Eva Lys was among the players who showed support.
Burrage won her doubles last-16 match on Wednesday, partnering American Robin Montgomery. The WTA told BBC Sport that staff in Chennai were supporting her, alongside its player welfare and Threat Matrix teams.
The WTA says its Threat Matrix system, established in 2023 and delivered with Signify Group and World Tennis, uses AI-assisted detection to identify accounts responsible for threats. The organisation says it investigates abuse, reports content for removal and can refer serious cases to law enforcement. It has also offered Burrage a private channel to report abusive direct messages and moderation to hide abusive public comments.
According to data cited by the WTA, female players received more than 12,000 abusive social media posts and messages last year. The organisation is also working with gambling companies on a programme that flags abuse from gamblers in real time, allowing operators to flag, restrict or suspend accounts.
Mhairi Maclennan, chief executive of Kyniska Advocacy, told BBC Radio 5 Live that she believes more needs to be done to protect athletes. She said public-facing sportspeople can receive abuse regardless of whether they win or lose, and called for sports to consider the effects of betting on athletes’ welfare.
Sources: BBC Sport.