British tennis player Jodie Burrage has revealed that she received death threats and a barrage of abusive messages on social media following her first WTA Tour singles match in 16 months. The 27-year-old, currently ranked 474th in the world, was competing at the Chennai Open, where she lost in the first round to India's Vaishnavi Adkar in a hard-fought three-set battle, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
After the match, Burrage shared a video on her Instagram story that scrolled through direct messages she had received, many of which contained violent and abusive language. In a caption accompanying the video, she wrote: "Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left." The post highlighted the dark side of social media that athletes often face.
Burrage's last appearance on the WTA Tour, excluding qualifiers, was at Wimbledon in July 2023, where she lost to Catherine McNally in the first round. Her return to the tour was highly anticipated, but the joy of competing was quickly overshadowed by the abuse.
The incident has drawn solidarity from fellow players. Germany's Eva Lys tagged the WTA in an Instagram post, asking: "When will something be done?" The call for action reflects growing frustration among players about the lack of protection from online abuse.
According to a report published earlier this year by the Signify Group, female tennis players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2023. The group's threat matrix service, which uses AI-led detection, found a similar number of abusive posts in 2023 as in 2022. A previous report from the same group two years ago revealed that angry gamblers were responsible for 48% of abusive posts. In 2023, they accounted for 42% of verified abuse and 59% of cases of serious abuse.
The issue is not isolated to Burrage. In 2023, Britain's Katie Boulter told BBC Sport that she had also received death threats. Players have repeatedly called for identity verification on social media platforms to help address the problem. The WTA's player board has previously condemned the abuse as "unacceptable" and emphasized that its impact can be "significant."
Burrage's experience sheds light on the ongoing challenges faced by female athletes in the digital space. As the tennis community rallies around her, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the need for stronger measures to protect players from online harassment.
