'I don't fear for my safety from online abuse - because we're so used to it'

After struggling with her blood pressure as she lost her first WTA Tour singles match for 16 months, Jodie Burrage checked in with three things: a doctor, a physiotherapist, and her phone.

On her social media feed there were already messages promising punishment - and others making threats on her life - for losing 3-6 6-3 7-5 to Indian wildcard Vaishnavi Adkar.

"I try not to actually read what they say," Burrage told BBC Sport from Chennai, where she is still competing in the doubles.

"Because we are so used to it - which is really quite sad - I don't fear for my safety.

"You've got to have thick skin. There was some brutal stuff that was said, but I don't take it to heart.

"Sometimes it hurts more than others. If you've already got other stuff going on, or you're not in a great place, and that is put on top of everything else - this tour is tricky enough as it is."

Burrage, who says her blood pressure "tanked" towards the end of the match, decided to share screenshots of the abuse on Instagram to raise awareness of an everyday problem for professional players.

"It happens every match - whether it's win or lose," the 27-year-old Briton said.

"Playing in Wrexham [on the World Tennis Tour last month], I won three matches [and] lost one. But after every single match there was some sort of abuse.

"I think that's where tennis players get it pretty hard - because in tennis you can bet on so many things."

Abuse of players, particularly by angry gamblers, is not a new problem.

Burrage's compatriot Katie Boulter shared with the BBC last year the abuse and death threats she received on a near-daily basis.

This year's WTA and World Tennis report into online abuse, which was based on data from the Signify Group's Threat Matrix service, said "angry gamblers" were responsible for 42% of all verified abuse detected during the 2025 season.

It is why there is so much disquiet about the sponsorship deals some tournaments have struck with gambling firms.

The Davis Cup, for example, has an official sports betting partner, while in August self-described "prediction-market platform" Kalshi signed a multi-year deal with the US Open.

Burrage believes social media platforms "should do more to help".

"I think an ID should be put on every Instagram account, and then that way it makes more people more accountable for their actions on that platform," she said.

"I think it would limit what people would say. People should be accountable for what they say and that's where I think there could be more of a push to change.

"It's only getting worse."

All WTA and World Tennis players have access to Threat Matrix's services, which monitor all social media posts directed at players.

The first aim is to provide a rapid assessment of whether an individual's safety is under threat. They can then alert the platforms, and potentially law enforcement agencies, to the offending content.

Names can also be shared with gaming companies, so they have the option of banning offenders from their platforms.

The service can extend to direct messages and even the moderation of accounts, so players never see the message in the first place. But this is not foolproof - and players may feel they would rather know about any threats made against them.

Burrage has recently been able to improve her singles ranking to 474, from a low of 888 in July. Injury prevented her playing singles for nine months and when she returned for the grass court season, sickness held her back.

But she will not allow the abuse to throw her off course.

"I'm at a place where it's all bigger picture for me and everything I'm doing now is to have a good season in 2027," she added.

"I'm building a team that is really good around me. They know where I've been, what I've gone through.

"It's not what you want, but if I have to go through it, then I will."