Hass messages in tennis
Then someone wrote to me: “I hope you die”
June 20, 2025 – 7:44 pmReading time: 5 min.
More and more professionals complain about threats and insults on social media. The German ex-player Andrea Petković reports on her own experiences – and talks about solutions.
It is the topic that currently strives for tennis sports away from what is happening on the courts. The topic that deals and stresses players. Finally, the stars’ complaints about threats and insults on social media increased.
Players also reported on their experiences on the edge of Berlin Tennis Open, which still run until June 22. The German Eva Lys said that hate news and threats were the goal of being the goal – not only on social media, but even personally “in real space”. The French Open winner and world ranking second Coco Gauff reported that she constantly received “insults, racist comments, nude photos, the whole range.” It is “just disgusting”.
A problem that Andrea Petković also employs. The 37-year-old, one of the best German tennis players for many years, is an ambassador for the top-class rasis tournament in Berlin as the “Director of Excitement”, which many players use as preparation for Wimbledon (June 30).
At the tournament, the former world ranking ninth talked to T-Online about her own experiences with threatening and hate messages-and also about possible solutions.
T-online: Andrea Petković, in 2024 they said to T-Online: “I think that social media have rather had positive things” for tennis and stars. Now the reports of players have recently increased again to threats and insults. Does it have to be rethought?
Andrea Petković: I still believe that social media allow players and players to control their own narrative. They also enable them to compensate for the expenses based on posts in cooperation with advertising partners. For example, we didn’t have this option. You always had in mind during a tournament: I have to win the next two rounds now because I have just paid coaches and physiotherapists and are now 10,000 euros in the red (laughs). That has changed, and of course that is to be welcomed. But: Another point leads us all into the social media spreader.
Unfortunately, the business with sports betting has to be said.
You are addressing the report of the WTA (Womenentennis World Association, editor’s note). Out of 8,000 posts and comments against tennis players, which were classified as offensive, threatening or violent, had come exclusively from “angry betting”.
These are people who apparently put their complete salary on a player, on a match in a tournament – and do not come up with the idea that this might not be a good idea.
The Spanish world ranking -listented Paula Badosa said at a press conference in Berlin that she had even received news from betting that would have reclaimed the lost money because she was responsible for the loss.
This is completely crazy. I have experienced this myself in my last career years, in which I was no longer set among the top 30 in the world and therefore at tournaments.
This meant that they met stronger opponents in the first tournament rounds.
Correct. And then I got such angry news even though I won. Why? Because I had defeated a favorite to whom a lot of money was put. So I just couldn’t do it right (laughs). But after a while I went to a practice that, according to my observation, followed many players today.