Messages of death after the knockout in Shanghai, the denunciation of father Cobolli

"Forget the Finals, your son must get cancer and die." The shocking sentence comes from social media and is addressed to Flavio Cobolli, defeated at the Shanghai Masters by the French Mannarino: the one who denounces it is the father and coach of the Italian tennis player, Stefano, who in a story on his Instagram profile publishes the message addressed to his son: "I usually try to delete without giving weight to these comments, which are many. But something must be done", the reply to the post signed by a nineteen-year-old, even if it could be a fake profile behind which some hidden bettor who had bet on the blue and vents all the hatred after the defeat. "Well done Fla, you fought and gave everything. Head on to the next one", the words of dad Cobolli.

"Something needs to be done - underlines Stefano Cobolli. Maybe eliminate social media? Definitely a solution and I will think about it, for the moment I still feel like fighting this plague if possible and perhaps the young lady will think twice next time - referring to the problem also reported by other tennis players linked to betting -. I hope that this message reaches parents.

We are strong, we are athletes and we overcome obstacles much bigger than an Instagram comment, but there are many people who could suffer from us and it is not fair. So dear parents, let's take a look at what our kids are doing on social media too, in my opinion it's important."

Similar threats have also been addressed to other tennis players, often from bettors: recently the complaint from Matteo Berrettini, hit by intimidation during Roland Garros.