Italian tennis player Andrea Vavassori, currently ranked 145th worldwide, has received disconcerting messages of threats and abuse. Lately, this trend has been driven by frustrated sports bettors who take to social media to unleash their vent, if they make financial losses. Nonetheless, this should never serve as a justification for directing such hateful messages toward these dedicated athletes.
The tipping point came after Vavassori’s recent loss to Lebanese player Benjamin Hassan in the Stockholm Open, a closely contested match ending at 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(5). The fact that Vavassori had three match points further triggered extreme ire among those who had staked their money on him.
Taking a bold step, Vavassori decided to expose the disturbing messages he had received, posting them on his Instagram profile. These messages included vicious threats such as “Die in hell, you rotten tennis player,” “Die, you piece of sh*t,” and “I hope you break both your legs”
Vavassori recounted the backdrop of this match about how he landed in Malaga and the circumstances in which he played. He said, “I arrived in Malaga at four in the morning, and I tested the court conditions in Stockholm just half an hour before the match. I then played a fantastic match against a very skilled tennis player. I missed three match points and fought until the end. This is what I deserve. Thank you.”
The prevalence of such hateful messages directed at athletes has recently become a pattern. Unfortunately, Andrea Vavassori is not the only sports professional subjected to such unwarranted negativity. The recent surge in online sports betting and its emotional repercussions have left a significant impact on numerous players.
Rise of online hate messages in tennis
Several other tennis players have also faced hateful online messages from frustrated bettors, a pattern that has seen a rise in 2023. Linda Noskova, an 18-year-old Czech player, recently received a derogatory message after her loss to Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. The abusive message included disturbing phrases such as “Kill yourself, you dumb fuking bi*ch,” and “Get cancer and die, obese fuking bi*ch.”
Similar to Noskova, Frances Tiafoe has been receiving death threats on social media after losing tennis matches. Tiafoe, along with Jessica Pegula and Donna Vekic, reported getting these threats, often from wagers who made bets on their games. Frances Tiafoe says he receives death threats via social media. Jessica Pegula says the same. So does Donna Vekic — directed at both her and her family.
Frances Tiafoe says he receives death threats via social media. Jessica Pegula says the same. So does Donna Vekic — directed at both her and her family.#FrenchOpen hopes AI can help tennis players block death threats, other social media hate
More: https://t.co/48m6sbsFGt
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) June 2, 2023
Linda Noskova however chose to respond with sarcasm and give back to them, drawing inspiration from Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephen, who in the past has received a lot of abusive stuff from online haters. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion has frequently dealt with racist messages. Stephens emphasized that this issue has persisted throughout her career and has even worsened over time.
This alarming trend of online hate messages is not limited to a single player but is becoming commonplace in the tennis world. Players are concerned about the toxic abuse and hatred on social media, which can significantly affect their mental health. Some players have been dealing with racist messages as well, further highlighting the issue.
