Ukrainian female tennis player Elina Svitorina has revealed some hateful and rogue messages she received from annoyed bettors after losing to Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals of the National Bank in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday night.
In support of winning the match, Svitolina lost in straight sets before being hit by a string of threats targeting her, a French male player on tour, and her husband, Gael Monfils. Svitorina posted a racial slurred message, along with the vitreous from users who hoped Russia would “kill all of the Ukrainians” as the war continued in Svitorina’s homeland.
“To all bettors: I’m my mother before I became an athlete,” Svitolina wrote in her Instagram story. “The way you talk to women – with your mother – is shameful. If your mother sees your message, they’ll get sick.”
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that women’s tour athletes have highlighted online abuse after the match. UK’s Katie Boulter told the BBC in an interview during the French opening that she was frightening at some of the messages she received from angry gamblers.
In June, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) published a season-wide report outlining the scale of abuse directed at social media players, calling for decision makers within the gambling industry to make changes and evoke them.
The report included the following findings, according to the WTA and ITF:
• Angry gamblers sent 40% of all abuses detected throughout the year.
•10 prolific accounts were liable for 12% of all abuse. Of these, nine have been suspended and posted permanently. A post has been deleted by the platform or user.
• Details of the 39 account holders who sent prolific abuse are shared with tennis authorities and the betting industry for further action.
• Most prolific abusive accounts sent 263 abusive messages
Most of the 15 “bad cases” were further investigated, with three being sent to the FBI. Security teams have been notified at various tournaments and Grand Slam sites to permanently ban individuals from participating in matches on various sites in the future.
