Britain's Jodie Burrage has received death threats and online abuse after her first-round defeat at the Chennai Open. Playing her first WTA singles match in 16 months, Burrage lost to India's Vaishnavi Adkar in a closely contested three-set battle that lasted two hours and 47 minutes. She led 5-3 in the deciding set but lost four consecutive games to fall 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The 27-year-old shared the abuse she received on Instagram, writing, "Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left." German player Eva Lys also called on the WTA to take action. Burrage struggled with humid conditions, called a medical timeout, and was visibly shaking during the match.
Last July, she had already urged gambling and social media companies to tackle online trolls. A 2024 report by the WTA and ITF found that 458 players were targeted with abuse, with 40% of it coming from frustrated gamblers—a figure rising to 77% for direct personal account abuse. Katie Boulter has also spoken out about receiving death threats, highlighting the growing safety concerns for female athletes in tennis.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing