British tennis player Jodie Burrage has renewed attention on the growing problem of online harassment in professional sport after receiving death threats and abusive messages following her defeat to Indian wildcard Vaishnavi Adkar at the Chennai Open in India on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

The incident comes as a joint report by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and World Tennis reveals that angry gamblers accounted for 42 per cent of all verified online abuse directed at professional tennis players during the 2025 season, with the figure rising to 59 per cent of serious abuse.

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The 27-year-old Burrage lost 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Adkar in the first round of the tournament, marking her return to WTA Tour singles competition after 16 months away.

Following the defeat, the British player shared screenshots of abusive direct messages on Instagram, including death threats, highlighting the hostility athletes can encounter from disappointed bettors and anonymous social media users.

In a pointed reaction to the messages, Burrage wrote: “Nice welcome back to the tour. I remember why I left.”

Speaking to BBC Sport, she acknowledged that online abuse had become an increasingly familiar experience but said some messages remained difficult to ignore, particularly when players were already dealing with personal and professional challenges.

“You’ve got to have thick skin. There was some brutal stuff that was said, but I don’t take it to heart,” she said.

Burrage also explained that the abuse was not necessarily limited to poor performances, as players could face hostility regardless of whether they won or lost.

She has called on social media companies to introduce stronger accountability measures, including identity verification, to discourage individuals from using anonymous accounts to threaten athletes.

The scale of the problem is reflected in the 2025 online abuse report published by the WTA and World Tennis on July 16, 2026.

The findings were compiled through the Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service, which uses artificial intelligence and human analysts to monitor abusive messages, threats and other harmful communications directed at professional tennis players.

The monitoring exercise analysed more than 1.2 million online posts and comments, identifying over 12,000 abusive posts, of which 3,726 were classified as serious.

Angry gamblers accounted for 42 per cent of verified abuse, a two-percentage-point increase from 2024.

More concerningly, they were responsible for 59 per cent of serious cases, including violent, sexual and other threatening communications.

The report also found that a relatively small number of repeat offenders accounted for a disproportionate share of the harassment. Just nine per cent of abusive accounts were responsible for 87 per cent of high-concern abuse.

Despite the troubling figures, the findings indicated some progress in tackling the problem. About 66 per cent of serious abusive posts and comments identified during the monitoring period were removed, while 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals were referred to law enforcement.

The governing bodies also reported that 89 per cent of accounts responsible for serious abuse in 2024 did not reappear in the 2025 monitoring period.

The WTA and World Tennis have consequently called for stronger cooperation between sporting organisations, social media companies, law enforcement agencies and the gambling industry.

The issue has also raised questions about the relationship between professional tennis and betting companies, particularly as gambling sponsorships and betting-related commercial arrangements become increasingly visible across international sport.

In an effort to address the problem, US-based Fanatics Sportsbook became the first betting operator to adopt investigative tools under the Bad Actor Programme in July 2026.

The initiative is designed to identify individuals responsible for abusing athletes and enable betting companies to take action against their accounts.

Burrage’s experience is not an isolated case. Other professional players, including Amanda Anisimova and Katie Boulter, have also spoken about receiving threatening and abusive messages from individuals reacting to match results.

The WTA has offered Burrage additional welfare support following the Chennai incident, including access to a private reporting channel for abusive direct messages and moderation tools designed to hide harmful comments before they reach her.

A WTA spokesperson said: “Protecting players and the wider tennis family from online threats and abuse is a key priority for the WTA.”

The organisation added that its Threat Matrix team was reporting the messages to social media platforms and investigating the individuals responsible.

Where abuse was linked to betting, the relevant accounts would be added to the Bad Actor Programme for further action.

For Burrage, the latest experience comes during an important period in her efforts to rebuild her professional career.

The British player previously reached a career-high singles ranking of 85th in September 2023 but subsequently struggled with injuries and illness that kept her away from singles competition for an extended period.

Her ranking fell to 888th in July 2026 before improving to 474th as she worked towards regaining her position on the international circuit.

Despite the setback in Chennai, Burrage remains focused on preparing for a stronger 2027 season and has indicated that online harassment will not derail her ambitions.

The latest findings have nevertheless reinforced concerns about the wider consequences of sports betting culture, particularly when financial losses are transferred into personal attacks against athletes.

For tennis authorities, the challenge now extends beyond removing offensive comments. It involves identifying repeat offenders, improving player protection and ensuring that commercial relationships with betting companies do not come at the expense of athletes’ safety and wellbeing.

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As the sport continues to expand its global audience, the message from players and governing bodies is increasingly clear: losing a bet does not give anyone the right to threaten an athlete.