Former world number three Elina Svitolina has revealed she was subjected to a torrent of online abuse, including death threats, following her Canadian Open quarter-final defeat to Naomi Osaka on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Ukrainian, who is also the 10th seed in Montreal, lost 6-2, 6-2 to the four-time Grand Slam champion. After the match, she took to Instagram to share some of the threatening messages she received, many of which were linked to angry gamblers.
“To all the bettors: I’m a mom before I’m an athlete,” Svitolina wrote, attaching screenshots of the abuse. “The way you talk to women – to mothers – is SHAMEFUL. If your moms saw your messages, they’d be disgusted.”
Some of the messages she received referenced the ongoing war in Ukraine, adding a deeply personal and distressing layer to the harassment.
Abuse from disgruntled gamblers has become a widespread issue in professional tennis. A study by tennis governing bodies found that nearly half of all social media abuse directed at players last year came from angry bettors.
French player Caroline Garcia previously raised concerns about “unhealthy betting” after her loss at the 2023 US Open, saying it was a major source of online attacks. She criticised social media platforms for failing to filter the abuse, adding that players are often emotionally vulnerable after defeats and that younger athletes are particularly at risk.
Svitolina’s husband, fellow professional Gael Monfils, had earlier taken a more light-hearted approach to the issue. Following a loss in Stuttgart earlier this year, the 38-year-old joked that he was surprised anyone still placed bets on him against much younger opponents.