Jodie Burrage urges social media accountability after Chennai death threats

Jodie Burrage has called for stronger accountability on social media after receiving death threats following her singles defeat in Chennai. Speaking to BBC Sport, the British player said she shared screenshots on Instagram to show the abuse professional tennis players routinely face, even when they win matches.

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Burrage lost 3-6 6-3 7-5 to Indian wildcard Vaishnavi Adkar in her first WTA Tour singles match for 16 months. She told the BBC her blood pressure dropped late in the contest. After seeing a doctor and a physiotherapist, she found threatening messages on her phone.

The 27-year-old said repeated exposure meant she did not currently fear for her safety, but stressed that abuse could be harder to handle alongside other difficulties. She advocated identity checks for Instagram accounts, arguing that users should be held responsible for what they post rather than being able to avoid accountability.

Her account comes against a documented pattern across the sport. A WTA and World Tennis report published in July, using Signify Group's Threat Matrix data, attributed 42% of verified online abuse during the 2025 season to angry gamblers. That group accounted for 59% of serious abuse. More than 1.2 million posts and comments were analysed, with over 12,000 classified as abusive and 3,726 as serious abuse, including violent, sexual and racist content and targeted threats.

The same report recorded action against offenders: 66% of serious abusive posts or comments were removed, while 35 accounts linked to 12 individuals were referred to law enforcement. Investigators also secured the removal of 26 prolific accounts on X and Instagram that together generated 21% of detected abuse. The governing bodies called for further action from the gambling industry alongside their player-protection work.

Burrage remains in Chennai for doubles and told BBC Sport her priority is building towards a strong 2027 season. After injury and illness interrupted her singles return, she said the team around her understands what she has been through and supports that longer-term approach.