Burrage receives support after online death threats

Published7 hours ago

Britain's Jodie Burrage has been receiving support from WTA staff at an event in India after being sent death threats on social media.

Burrage, 27, was bombarded with abusive online messages when she was beaten in her first WTA Tour singles main-draw match in 16 months on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, she won in the last 16 of the Chennai Open doubles alongside Robin Montgomery of the United States.

"Protecting players and the wider tennis family from online threats and abuse is a key priority for the WTA," the governing body told BBC Sport.

"We have WTA staff on the ground in Chennai offering Jodie support, along with our wider player welfare and Threat Matrix team."

Burrage shared a story on her Instagram account that showed the direct messages she had been sent following a 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss to India's Vaishnavi Adkar.

"Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left," Burrage wrote.

Burrage tagged the WTA into the post, asking when action will be taken to combat abuse. Other players, including Germany's Eva Lys, showed solidarity with the former world number 85.

Death threats for Briton Burrage on WTA Tour return

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Death threats for Briton Burrage on WTA Tour return

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Is enough being done to protect players?

The WTA insists it is taking a "proactive approach" to protecting female players from abuse.

The Threat Matrix system, which uses artificial intelligence-led detection, can identify people behind the accounts that threaten players, enabling investigations to take place and potentially leading to legal action.

Female players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media last year, according to data from the service.

"Through Threat Matrix, a system we established in 2023, delivered by Signify Group alongside World Tennis, we identify, investigate and take action against those responsible," the WTA added.

"This includes reporting abusive content for removal, escalating serious cases to law enforcement and supporting action to prevent real-world harm.

"As much of the abuse players receive comes through direct messages, the WTA has offered Jodie additional support.

"These include a private channel to report abusive direct messages, and moderation that hides abusive comments on public channels before she sees them."

In 2024, a report from Signify found that angry gamblers were behind 48% of posts which were deemed to be abusive.

They were responsible for 42% of verified abuse in 2025 and 59% of cases of serious abuse.

The WTA is working with several gambling companies in a programme that flags abuse from gamblers in real time, allowing the operator to take direct action against those targeting athletes.

The company is then able to flag, restrict or suspend the account.

Mhairi Maclennan, chief executive of the Kyniska Advocacy, which supports female athletes, believes there is "still not enough being done" to protect athletes across the board.

"I'm afraid it is all too common for athletes who have public profiles to receive this type of abuse," she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme.

"Whether they have won or lost, a lot of the athletes we speak to report they have received abuse - whether death threats or rape threats - because of their public profile and because sports like tennis are tied to betting.

"Sports need a healthier relationship with betting agencies. Ultimately sports need money but we need to be looking at what betting is doing to individual athletes and looking after their welfare."

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