Women’s tennis star Panna Udvardy was contacted by a crazed bettor in possession of disturbing personal information who demanded that she lose her match or see members of her family harmed.
The world No 95 was preparing to play a lower-ranked WTA 125 tournament in Antalya in Turkey when she received the messages from an unknown number.
In an attempt to blackmail the player – most likely due to the individual having placed bets on the match – the messages were so severe they prompted Udvardy to contact both the WTA and the Turkish police.
‘Last night around midnight I received several very disturbing messages on WhatsApp from an unknown number on my personal phone,’ she shared on social media, along with screenshots of some of the messages. ‘The person told me that if I didn’t lose my match today, they would harm members of my family.
‘They said they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers. They even sent photos of my family members and a picture of a gun. It was honestly very scary to receive something like this.
‘I immediately contacted the WTA supervisor, sent the screenshots, and informed my parents. My parents then contacted the consulate, and when I woke up this morning I also spoke again with the WTA supervisor. I was told that similar threats have recently happened to other players and that they believe personal information may have leaked from the WTA database, which is currently being investigated.
Hungarian star Panna Udvardy shared disturbing messages sent to her by a crazed individual
The world No 95 was targeted on the eve of her match against Anhelina Kalinina in Turkey
‘The consulate responded very quickly and sent three police officers to my match, which I’m extremely grateful for. Police also went to my parents’ and grandmother’s homes, and after the match I filed an official police report here in Turkey.’
Thanking friends and fans who reached out with messages of support, as well as the consulate, Udvardy went on to add that ‘this is not normal’ and stressed that society was in danger of ‘normalising abuse in sport’.
‘I hope the WTA continues investigating this situation seriously and takes stronger steps to protect players’ personal data and safety and to inform players immediately if there is a breach in their system,’ her statement continued. ‘No player should have to deal with something like this.’
Shockingly, less than 24 hours before Udvardy received the shocking messages, No 166 Lucrezia Stefanini was similarly targeted while competing in qualifying at Indian Wells.
‘I received a WhatsApp message in which I was threatened over winning yesterday’s match,’ the Italian player said in a social media video. ‘They threatened me and my family and named my parents, the place where I was born, and they sent me a photo of a gun.
‘I’m making this video and explaining what happened because I don’t think it’s right to put me under this pressure and unease before a match. I immediately alerted the WTA, which provided me with more security.
Rising star Eva Lys spoke out in November about the wave of abuse she receives from bettors
‘The entire tournament mobilized to make me feel safe. Despite it all, I fought until the end to try and win my match, because I can’t permit these people to intimidate me.’
While many elite athletes across a range of international sports have come to consider online abuse as unpleasant part and parcel of life in the public eye, tennis stars in particular have suffered with performance-related abuse frequently linked to bettors.
Rising star Eva Lys in November spoke out about receiving death threats from social media accounts she believed had gambled on the outcome of her matches.
‘After every defeat,’ Lys confirmed, after previously sharing some of the messages on her social media account. ‘A thousand times the hate straight into my inbox. Without exception.
‘Some are particularly brazen. If a match is close, goes to a third set, and I’m behind, I later find nasty messages that must have been written at that moment. If I then win, the same guy writes that I should forget the previous message, that he’s sorry. He’s now won 5,000 euros.’
In June, the ITF and WTA published an inaugural 2024 season report tracking the abuse of tennis players across different platforms – 40 per cent of which stemmed from gamblers.
Using data from Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service between January and December, the report confirmed that close to 8,000 posts and comments from 4,200 could be deemed ‘abusive, violent, or threatening’.
The worst accounts are subsequently flagged to Tour events, prompting bans, while for 15 separate instances, the threat level was elevated, with the FBI involved in three cases deemed particularly severe.
