- Published
Britain's Jodie Burrage has been receiving support from WTA staff at an event in India after being sent death threats on social media.
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Burrage → publish → media
Burrage, 27, was bombarded with abusive online messages when she was beaten in her first WTA Tour singles main-draw match in 16 months on Tuesday.
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she → bombard → Tuesday
On Wednesday, she won in the last 16 of the Chennai Open doubles alongside Robin Montgomery of the United States.
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she → win → States
"Protecting players and the wider tennis family from online threats and abuse is a key priority for the WTA," the governing body told BBC Sport.
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body → protect → Sport
"We have WTA staff on the ground in Chennai offering Jodie support, along with our wider player welfare and Threat Matrix team."
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staff → have → welfare
Burrage shared a story on her Instagram account that showed the direct messages she had been sent following a 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss to India's Vaishnavi Adkar.
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she → share → Adkar
I remember why I left," Burrage wrote.
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Burrage → remember → ?
Burrage tagged the WTA into the post, asking when action will be taken to combat abuse.
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action → tag → abuse
Other players, including Germany's Eva Lys, showed solidarity with the former world number 85.
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players → include → number
Is enough being done to protect players?
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enough → do → players
The WTA insists it is taking a "proactive approach" to protecting female players from abuse.
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it → insist → abuse
The Threat Matrix system, which uses artificial intelligence-led detection, can identify people behind the accounts that threaten players, enabling investigations to take place and potentially leading to legal action.
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that → use → action
Female players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media last year, according to data from the service.
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players → subject → service
"Through Threat Matrix, a system we established in 2023, delivered by Signify Group alongside World Tennis, we identify, investigate and take action against those responsible," the WTA added.
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WTA → establish → those
"This includes reporting abusive content for removal, escalating serious cases to law enforcement and supporting action to prevent real-world harm.
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This → include → harm
"As much of the abuse players receive comes through direct messages, the WTA has offered Jodie additional support.
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WTA → receive → support
"These include a private channel to report abusive direct messages, and moderation that hides abusive comments on public channels before she sees them."
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she → include → them
In 2024, a report from Signify found that angry gamblers were behind 48% of posts which were deemed to be abusive.
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which → find → posts
They were responsible for 42% of verified abuse in 2025 and 59% of cases of serious abuse.
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They → verify → abuse
The WTA is working with several gambling companies in a programme that flags abuse from gamblers in real time, allowing the operator to take direct action against those targeting athletes.
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operator → work → athletes
The company is then able to flag, restrict or suspend the account.
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company → flag → account
Mhairi Maclennan, chief executive of the Kyniska Advocacy, which supports female athletes, believes there is "still not enough being done" to protect athletes across the board.
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which → support → board
"I'm afraid it is all too common for athletes who have public profiles to receive this type of abuse," she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme.
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she → have → programme
"Whether they have won or lost, a lot of the athletes we speak to report they have received abuse - whether death threats or rape threats - because of their public profile and because sports like tennis are tied to betting.
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sports → win → betting
"Sports need a healthier relationship with betting agencies.
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Sports → need → agencies
Ultimately sports need money but we need to be looking at what betting is doing to individual athletes and looking after their welfare."
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betting → need → welfare
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