Jodie Burrage says she does not fear for her safety after online death threats following Chennai loss
Jodie Burrage said she did not fear for her safety after receiving online death threats following her 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat by Indian wildcard Vaishnavi Adkar in a WTA Tour singles match in Chennai, which was her first WTA Tour singles match for 16 months. After the match she checked in with a doctor and a physiotherapist and then looked at her phone to find messages promising punishment and threats to her life.
Burrage, who has represented Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup, told BBC Sport from Chennai: "I try not to actually read what they say," and added: "Because we are so used to it - which is really quite sad - I don't fear for my safety." The 27-year-old said her blood pressure "tanked" towards the end of the match and that she was still competing in the doubles in Chennai when speaking to the BBC.
She posted screenshots of the abuse on Instagram to raise awareness, saying: "It happens every match - whether it's win or lose." Burrage cited a recent stint in Wrexham on the World Tennis Tour as an example, noting: "Playing in Wrexham [on the World Tennis Tour last month], I won three matches [and] lost one. But after every single match there was some sort of abuse."
The problem of online abuse in tennis has been documented by others; Burrage's compatriot Katie Boulter told the BBC last year about near-daily abuse and death threats. A WTA and World Tennis report, using data from the Signify Group's Threat Matrix service, said "angry gamblers" were responsible for 42% of all verified abuse detected during the 2025 season.
The prevalence of abuse has intensified scrutiny of tournament sponsorships with gambling firms: the Davis Cup has an official sports betting partner, and in August the US Open signed a multi-year deal with the prediction-market platform Kalshi. Those commercial links are cited in discussions about the role of gambling-related abuse directed at players.
All WTA and World Tennis players have access to Threat Matrix's services, which monitor social media posts directed at players and aim to provide a rapid assessment of whether an individual's safety is under threat. The system can alert platforms and potentially law enforcement agencies, share names with gaming companies so they may ban offenders, and extend to direct messages or moderation so players do not see the offending content, but the service is not foolproof and some players prefer to be informed about threats.
Burrage has seen her singles ranking improve to 474 from a low of 888 in July after missing nine months of singles play with injury and then being affected by sickness on her grass-court return. She said she would not let the online abuse derail her plans: "I'm at a place where it's all bigger picture for me and everything I'm doing now is to have a good season in 2027," adding that she is "building a team that is really good around me. They know where I've been, what I've gone through." "It's not what you want, but if I have to go through it, then I will," she added.
Burrage remains in Chennai to continue competing in the doubles and is preparing with the team she says will support her campaign toward a "good season in 2027."
