British tennis player Jodie Burrage has been receiving support from Women's Tennis Association (WTA) staff at an event in India after being targeted with death threats on social media. The 27-year-old was inundated with abusive online messages following her defeat in her first WTA Tour singles main-draw match in 16 months on Tuesday.
Support on the Ground
The WTA has confirmed that its personnel are present in Chennai to offer assistance to Burrage, alongside the organization's player welfare and Threat Matrix teams. In a statement to BBC Sport, the governing body emphasized that safeguarding players and the broader tennis community from online threats and abuse remains a key priority.
On Wednesday, Burrage returned to the court and secured a victory in the last 16 of the Chennai Open doubles event, partnering with Robin Montgomery of the United States.
Player Shares Abuse
Burrage posted a story on her Instagram account displaying the direct messages she received after her 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss to India's Vaishnavi Adkar. In the post, she wrote: "Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left." She also tagged the WTA in the post, questioning when action would be taken to combat such abuse. Several players, including Germany's Eva Lys, expressed solidarity with the former world number 85.
WTA's Proactive Measures
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 individuals behind threatening accounts, enabling investigations and potentially leading to legal action.
According to data from the service, female players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media last year. The WTA added that through Threat Matrix, established in 2023 and delivered by Signify Group alongside World Tennis, it identifies, investigates and takes action against those responsible. 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 Burrage additional support, including a private channel to report abusive direct messages and moderation that hides abusive comments on public channels before she sees them.
Gambling Link to Abuse
In 2024, a report from Signify found that angry gamblers were behind 48% of posts deemed 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 can then flag, restrict or suspend the account.
Calls for Stronger Action
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. She told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme: "I'm afraid it is all too common for athletes who have public profiles to receive this type of abuse. 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."
