Young tennis star exposes sickening abuse she received after losing a match

Tennis News

Ewan West
September 28, 2023

Rising WTA star Linda Noskova has exposed the vile abuse she received from a social media user following a match she lost today.

The 18-year-old shared a screenshot on her Instagram story of abusive messages she was sent on Instagram, but has appeared to have removed it since.

The user likely sent the abusive messages because they had bet on Noskova to win her most recent match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Noskova lost 3-6, 6-4, 0-6 to the 86th-ranked Russian in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Japan on Thursday. The world No 44 had defeated Japanese lucky loser Himeno Sakatsume 6-2, 7-5 in the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament.

The Czech revealed she had been subjected to horrible abuse by the Instagram user, who used death threats, vulgar insults and derogatory language.

*Please note this social media post contains explicit language.

Linda Noskova posts a disturbing message she received after her loss in Tokyo

This is nauseating to read. Sadly, it’s becoming more & more common for these athletes to deal with harassment almost daily.

Reminder that Linda is only 18 years old & has to read this.

Sickening. pic.twitter.com/4LewvzLK9G

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 28, 2023

“Kill yourself, you dumb f***ing b***h end your f***ing life. Nice job dumb f***ing b***h, 20 game points and you lose the game. Get cancer and die b***h,” they wrote.

This was the followed by a message repeating the phrase: “Get cancer and die obese f***ing b***h.”

Noskova captioned the screenshot of the messages with “Dude”, followed by a laughing and clapping emoji.

The 18-year-old is a highly talented and promising player, having already climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 41 last month. In 2023, she holds an impressive 31-19 singles record and has been a runner-up at two WTA Tour events.

Unfortunately, players receiving abuse online – particularly from people who bet on their matches – is a very common occurrence in the sport.

Earlier this year, Portuguese ATP player Joao Sousa – a former world No 28 – spoke out about the frequent abuse he and fellow players receive online.

“I would like to explain to everyone a reality that many people are unaware of, but unfortunately tennis professionals have to deal with it every week,” wrote the 34-year-old.

“There have already been several professional colleagues who have exposed this problem and the vast majority of us have already learned to deal with it; however, this time I join them.

“I am exhausted from receiving messages from gamblers with threats, insults, provocations and little understanding of what it means to sacrifice to be a professional tennis player.

“Unfortunately, the world of betting, which has all my respect, has brought this not-so-good side and these people forget that the recipient of these messages, apart from being tennis professionals, we are above all HUMANS!

“Humans with feelings, emotions, days like everyone else, who deal with our own problems and give our best despite victory or defeat. I’m not asking you to follow me or like me, I simply demand RESPECT, thank you!”

Linda Noskova