Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova shared a screenshot of online abuse she received in the aftermath of her first-round defeat at the China Open.
Vondorusova, the eighth seed, lost to Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in the most shocking result of the first round thus far at the last WTA 1000 on the calendar. The Czech lefty had taken the first set 6-1 and seemingly cruising.
But failure to convert any of four break point opportunities in a tight second set proved costly. It was Kalinina who managed to the solitary break of the serve to level the match. The third set was one-way traffic as Vondrousova's serve deteriorated badly, holding once from four attempts. Kalinina completed the turnaround to earn her first Top 10 win of the year.
After the match, Vondrousova's Instagram account was bombarded with aggressive and hateful messages, supposedly from angry and irresponsible gamblers. Sports stars especially tennis players have been subject to severe online abuse and threatening messages from disgruntled bettors.
"Here we go again."
Recently, Croatia's Borna Coric was attacked on his social media account by online trolls after losing early at the Canadian Open, and he had to temporarily deactivate his Instagram profile. Vondrousova's younger compatriot Linda Noskova was another player who came under a barrage of online abuse after losing a match in Tokyo.
This is a far cry from an ideal scenario for tennis players, some of whom suffer from issues related to mental health. Such disturbing messages can easily leave a massive psychological scar. Some of the world's biggest betting companies sponsor a host of Tour-level tournaments, and players have in the past spoken against tennis governing bodies fostering such deals.
Defeat dealt Vondrousova a hammer blow in her quest to qualify for the 2023 WTA Finals. With Jessica Pegula having sealed her spot, only three more players can board the flight to Cancun, Mexico, for the season-ending finale. Just 631 points separate the Czech in sixth from ninth-placed Maria Sakkari, who can bridge that gap next week.
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