Arabic version: بوراج تبلغ عن تهديدات بالقتل بعد هزيمتها في تشيناي

According to BBC News, British tennis player Jodie Burrage received death threats and abusive social-media messages after losing her first WTA Tour singles match proper for 16 months. The 27-year-old Londoner, ranked 474th in the world, was beaten in the first round of the Chennai Open.

India’s Vaishnavi Adkar recovered after losing the opening set to win 3-6 6-3 7-5. Burrage subsequently posted an Instagram story featuring a video scroll of direct messages she said were sent after the match. “Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left,” she wrote.

Germany’s Eva Lys expressed support for Burrage, tagging the WTA on Instagram and asking: “When will something be done?” Burrage, Britain’s number 15, had last played a WTA Tour match, excluding qualifying, in July 2025, when she lost to Catherine McNally in the first round at Wimbledon.

A report published earlier this year said female tennis players faced more than 12,000 abusive social-media posts and messages last year. Data from the Signify Group’s threat matrix service showed a similar number of abusive posts in 2025 to 2024. An earlier report from the group found angry gamblers were behind 48% of posts deemed abusive; they accounted for 42% of verified abuse in 2025 and 59% of serious-abuse cases. The WTA’s player board has called such abuse “unacceptable” and said its impact can be “significant”.