Burrage receives threats and abuse after Chennai Open defeat

British tennis player Jodie Burrage revealed that she received death threats and insulting messages on social media after losing to India's Vaishnavi Adkar in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday. Burrage lost 3-6 6-3 7-5 in her first WTA Tour singles match in 16 months. The match lasted two hours and 47 minutes.

The 27-year-old lost four games in a row when she was 5-3 up in the deciding set. Struggling in the humid conditions, Burrage received medical attention as her opponent was about to serve. Her blood pressure and oxygen levels were checked, and ice was applied to her arms and legs. Burrage continued playing but lost the final game without winning a point.

Burrage shared some of the abusive messages she received in a story on her Instagram account. In a note accompanying them, she wrote that she had sarcastically welcomed her return to the tour and recalled why she had left. Germany's Eva Lys tagged the WTA and asked when a solution would be found to this situation.

Last July, Burrage had said that betting companies and social media companies should make more effort to fight online trolls. After losing to American Caty McNally in the first round at Wimbledon, she described forcing herself not to look at her phone because of the abuse. She argues that linking accounts to identity would quickly reduce abusive posts and make users more accountable.