British tennis player Jodie Burrage has revealed she has been subjected to death threats on social media following her first WTA Tour match in 16 months. Burrage, ranked world No. 474, lost her first-round match at the Chennai Open to India's Vaishnavi Adkar with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Following the defeat, Burrage shared screenshots of abusive messages she received on her Instagram story, expressing her dismay at the online harassment. "Nice welcome back to tour. I remember why I left. When will something be done?" she wrote, tagging both the WTA and Instagram.
Among the messages shared were several violent threats and derogatory comments about her performance and gender. One message read: "Your [sic] a quitter smh [shake my head]. You truly are a disgrace to the sport. You got your ass whooped today and you are the exact reason women's sports are a joke. Hope you go home and kill yourself bc [because] honestly that's what's best. You will never compare to a man b***h."
Another message stated: "Die n riot [sic] on the streets." A further shocking message included explicit profanity.
This was Burrage's first WTA Tour match since July 2025, excluding qualifiers. Her experience echoes that of fellow British tennis player Katie Boulter, who also spoke out about receiving death threats on social media after a match in 2025. Boulter had received messages including hopes of her contracting cancer and threats against her family.
