Ukrainian superstar and current world no. 13 Elina Svitolina crashed out of the National Bank Open in Canada after losing in straight sets to the USA’s Naomi Osaka. Svitolina lost 6-2, 6-2, following which she took to Instagram to post about the hateful abuse she received following the loss.
“To all the bettors: I’m a mum before I’m an athlete… The way you talk to women – to mothers – is SHAMEFUL. If your mothers saw your messages, they’d be disgusted,” she wrote on her Instagram story, per ESPN.
The former World no. 3 posted multiple messages that she had received, including a racial slur targeted at her husband, French tennis star Gael Monfils. Among the messages she posted were comments such as “I hope you die today,” “Kill yourself,” and “I hope Russia kills all you Ukrainians.”
Monfils was called a “useless monkey” and other racist insults. The abuse drew attention from fellow tennis pros, including Nick Kyrgios, who labeled the messages “Disgusting” in a post on X. A number of tennis stars have been reported to have received serious abuse, especially from gambling communities, in recent months.
Earlier this year, British tennis player Katie Boulter also revealed receiving death threats during the French Open, with threats aimed at her and her family. She told the BBC that this sort of abuse has become normalized and believes it largely stems from bettors furious over match results.
Their plea aligns with a recent joint report released by the WTA and ITF, which revealed over 8,000 abusive messages directed at 458 players on social media in 2024 alone. A staggering 40% of those messages were traced back to “angry gamblers.”
Despite Svitolina's loss in Montreal to Osaka after strong wins over Rakhimova, Kalinskaya, and Anisimova, Svitolina remains a prominent force on tour and in the Race to the Finals. The 30-year-old is a WTA veteran, and has three Grand Slam semifinal finishes in her career.
