Jodie Burrage receives death threats after Chennai Open first-round defeat
British tennis player Jodie Burrage faced online abuse after losing to Vaishnavi Adkar at the Chennai Open.
Jodie Burrage received death threats and abuse on social media after her first-round loss at the Chennai Open. The 27-year-old Briton led 5-3 in the decider before losing 3-6 6-3 7-5 to India's Vaishnavi Adkar.
Key takeaways
- Burrage received death threats and abuse after her Chennai Open defeat.
- She lost 3-6 6-3 7-5 to Vaishnavi Adkar after leading 5-3 in the final set.
- Burrage posted an Instagram story showing some of the abuse she received.
- She called for social media accounts to be linked to ID to improve accountability.
- A WTA and ITF report found 458 players were direct targets of abuse in 2024.
Britain's Jodie Burrage has received death threats and abuse on social media after she was beaten in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday, according to Sky Sports.
Burrage, who was playing her first WTA Tour singles match in 16 months, went down against India's Vaishnavi Adkar.
She looked poised for victory when she led 5-3 in the deciding set but lost four games in a row to fall to a 3-6 6-3 7-5 defeat after two hours and 47 minutes.
Why it matters
The Chennai Open is the third edition of the tournament and part of the 2026 WTA Tour in the 250 category, Sky Sports reported. It is played on outdoor hardcourts and is the last edition before the event is slated to relocate to Manila in 2027. The match was Burrage's return to WTA Tour singles action after 16 months.
Burrage published an Instagram story with some of the abuse received due to the defeat, Sky Sports said. She accompanied the post with the message quoted above. German player Eva Lys tagged the WTA from her Instagram handle and asked: "When will something be done?"
What happens next
The sources do not give a date, venue or start time for Burrage's next match. The WTA and ITF report found that 40 per cent of social media abuse came from frustrated gamblers, rising to 77 per cent for direct abuse directed towards players' personal accounts. Burrage last July urged gambling companies and social media companies to do more to tackle online trolls.
Key figures from the match and abuse report
Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Burrage's age | 27 |
Career-high WTA singles ranking | 85 |
Match duration | 2 hours 47 minutes |
Final score | 3-6 6-3 7-5 |
Players targeted by abuse in 2024 | 458 |
Abuse from frustrated gamblers | 40 per cent |
Direct abuse to personal accounts from gamblers | 77 per cent |
By the numbers
Burrage reached a career-high ranking of 85 in September 2023, according to Sky Sports. She has won six singles titles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit, plus one doubles title on the WTA Tour and one on WTA 125 tournaments. The WTA and ITF report used an AI-led detection system developed by the Signify Group.
Background
Jodie Anna Burrage is a British tennis player with a best doubles ranking of world number 114, set on 14 July 2025. She reached a career-high WTA singles ranking of number 85 on 11 September 2023.
Last July, after her first-round defeat to American Caty McNally at Wimbledon, Burrage said she has had to stop herself from looking at her phone due to online abuse.
Katie Boulter also opened up about the level of abuse aimed at some players and said she and her family have received death threats last year.
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