Montreal – The Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken about the flood of hateful abuse that she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages who wish for her death and celebrate Russia who kill her countrymen.
Following her straight-sets loss for Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday evening, Svitolina Posted Screenshots of the Messages On Instagram.
The abuse was focused on her, while other racial loses were also aimed at her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monfils, who is black. An abuser hoped that Russia “kills all your (expletive) Ukrainians” in the war that raged in the land of Svitolina.
“To all gamblers: I am a mother before I am an athlete,” wrote Svitolina in her Instagram story. “The way you talk to women – to mothers – is embarrassing. If you saw mothers your messages, they would be disgusting.”
Earlier this year, the British player Katie Boulter said that she received death threats during the French Open who focused on her and her family, while the WTA and ITF called on gambling companies to do more to turn the electricity of online abuse players on social media.
BOLTER told the BBC in an interview that online abuse has become the norm and that she thinks many of the messages are sent by people who post bets in tennis competitions.
Her comments, together with the WTA and ITF, published a first seasonal report in online abuse, which shows that 458 tennis players were the target of more than 8,000 offensive comments and messages on social media in 2024. The report said that 40 percent of the abuse came from “angry gamblers”.
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