Katie Boulter: The toxic death threats received by British tennis star and what Judy Murray says about abuse

British number two Katie Boulter has lifted the lid on the level of abuse aimed at some tennis players and revealed she and her family have received death threats.

Boulter shared her experiences with BBC Sport, as she highlighted the issue of players receiving toxic messages online.

Katie Boulter celebrates during her match against Diana Shnaider on day four of the HSBC Championships at The Queen's Club, London. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire | PA

The toxic messages

The 28-year-old’s examples included a message telling her to buy “candles and a coffin for your entire family” with a reference to her “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow”.

One message stated she should “go to hell” as she had cost the poster money. Another said “hope you get cancer”.

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Boulter opens up on posts

Boulter said: “I just wonder who the person is that has sent that. I don’t think it’s something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It’s just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It’s horrible.”

Why is Boulter receiving the abuse?

Boulter said she believed much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and while she has learned how to better handle it over the years, incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety.

She said: “I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don’t know if this person is on site. You really don’t know if they’re nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.”

Her French Open experience

The message Boulter received relating to her family came during her French Open first-round victory over Carole Monnet on May 29.

She had trailed after losing the first set of that match in a tie-break, but fought back to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-1 in what was her first victory in the main draw at Roland Garros.

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Boulter is concerned that both the frequency and severity of the abuse is increasing.

Why has Boulter share the message content?

Speaking about why she had decided to go public on the detail of the messages, Boulter said such abusive content had now become "the norm" and she was worried about the impact posts could have on younger players.

Katie Boulter is in good form on the clay. | Getty Images

"At the very start of my career, it's probably something I took very personally ... getting comments about the way you look," she said.

"It becomes more apparent every single time you go on your phone. I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now."

Boulter said it was hard to know which posters represented a genuine risk and others that weren’t.

"As far as death threats, it's just not something you want to be reading straight after an emotional loss," she said. "A lot of the time you get it after you win as well."

How common are the posts?

Figures published by data science company Signify, the International Tennis Federation and Women's Tennis Association show about 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages were sent in public to 458 tennis players last year via their social media accounts.

The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players.

One particularly prolific account sent 263 abusive messages. Five specific players were the target of more than a quarter (26 per cent) of all abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers.

Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues.

A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: “Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. Today’s report covering the first year of the Threat Matrix service shows the scale of the problem and, crucially, the actions being taken to protect our athletes.

“Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue.

“Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.”

Judy Murray’s experiences

The 'Cosy Like Sunday Morning' event at 10.30am on Sunday, September 14, will be dedicated to all things cozy crime. Judy Murray will be there to talk about her book 'Game, Set and Murder', which sees an ace tennis coach reach a grisly end. She'll be joined by fellow authors Marnie Riches, Mel Pennant, and Jonathan Whitelaw. | Getty Images for LTA

Judy Murray - the mother of two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray - has previously spoken publicly about the hostility that tennis players are subject to online.

Speaking in 2023, the tennis coach and author shared her Fed Cup experiences, revealing how young girls had been targeted online by gamblers for losing even a set.

The 65-year-old said at the time: “If you are one of the players that have lost a bet for them by losing a match, the death threats and the abuse that comes through is horrifying.”

The gambling sector response

A Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) spokesperson said: “BGC members do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport.

“It is vital social media companies take swift action against users, remove offensive content and work more closely with BGC members on measures to further strengthen safer gambling.

“Each month around 22.5m people in Britain enjoy a bet, on the lottery, in bookmakers, casinos, bingo halls and online, and the overwhelming majority do so safely and responsibly.”