Hate messages, threats, stalking: Eva Lys vividly described the dark side of her life as a tennis professional.
“I recently had to deal with stalkers who got the addresses of training grounds, hotels and even room numbers,” said the German number one in an interview with the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”.
“They were obviously obsessed with me. That crossed every line,” Lys continued. Together with the WTA tour association, she and her team ensured that people were at least kept away from the tournaments and the courts. “But these security measures also have limits,” says Lys. The 23-year-old has already spoken several times about hate messages online.
Other players also openly address the major problem, including the Swiss Belinda Bencic and the British Katie Boulter. “First of all, I’m very happy that other players are doing it too. The problem was hushed up for a long time,” said Lys, who was confronted with it as a 16-year-old: “The more it’s talked about, the better. But unfortunately the first thing that comes to my mind is: It doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s become part of life for us as tennis professionals.”
She herself has a “great team that looks after me,” said the 40th in the world rankings, who is fighting for relegation with the German team in the Billie Jean King Cup in Ismaning this weekend: “No one is made to deal with it in more detail. It describes in detail how to rape me. How to rape my mother. And how to kill my family.”
Lys said she had read everything bad you could read about yourself and your family. She has to deal with it: “It’s everyday life. Unfortunately.”