British Tennis Star Burrage Receives Death Threats

British tennis player Jodie Burrage has received death threats and online abuse on Tuesday following her first WTA Tour singles match in 16 months.

The 27-year-old, ranked 474th in the world, lost in the first round of the Chennai Open after India’s Vaishnavi Adkar came from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Burrage later shared screenshots of abusive direct messages on her Instagram story.

The messages included death threats. Reacting to the abuse, she wrote: “Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left.”

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German tennis player Eva Lys publicly supported Burrage. She tagged the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and asked: “When will something be done?”

Jodie Burrage receives death threats and online abuse. Credit: Instagram.

Burrage last appeared in a WTA main-draw singles match, outside qualifying, at Wimbledon in July 2025. She lost in the first round. The incident has renewed concerns about online abuse targeting female tennis players.

According to data from Signify Group, female players received more than 12,000 abusive social media posts and messages last year. Similar figures were also recorded in 2025. The data showed that angry gamblers were responsible for 42 per cent of verified abuse and 59 per cent of serious abuse cases that year.

British tennis player Katie Boulter has also previously spoken about receiving death threats. Meanwhile, players have called for social media platforms to introduce identity verification measures to help tackle online abuse.

The WTA player board has also described the abuse as unacceptable, warning it could significantly affect players.

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Deborah Akwa

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