Tennis player threatened with death if she doesn't lose the match. “They sent me pictures of my family and a gun. Very scary!”
Tennis player Panna Udvardy (27) revealed on social media that she received extremely serious threats before a match at the WTA 125 tournament in Antalya. The messages, sent on WhatsApp from an unknown number, included a photo of a gun and warnings that his family would suffer if he did not lose the match.
Panna Udvardy Photo/Instagram
Udvardy, ranked 95th WTA, explained that the senders knew details about his family members: where they live, what cars they drive and their phone numbers. Following these threats, the Turkish consulate sent three policemen to ensure her protection during the match, and the authorities also guarded the homes of the athlete's parents and grandmother.
“Very disturbing messages on Whatsapp!”
In the quarterfinals, Panna Udvardy, the tournament's second favorite, lost to Anhelina Kalinina 6-7 (3), 5-7. The athlete narrated the whole situation on Instagram.
“Last night around midnight, I received several very disturbing WhatsApp messages from an unknown number on my personal phone.
That person told me that if I don't lose the match today, he will harm my family members. They said they know where my family lives, what cars they drive and have their phone numbers. They even sent me photos of my family members and a picture of a gun. Honestly, it was very scary to receive something like this.
I immediately contacted the WTA supervisor, sent the screenshots and informed my parents. My parents then contacted the consulate, and when I woke up this morning, I also spoke to the WTA supervisor again. I have been told that similar threats have recently been made against other players and that they believe that personal information may have been leaked from the WTA database, which is currently being investigated.
“It is not acceptable to receive threats against our families!”
The consulate responded very quickly and sent three police officers to my match, for which I am extremely grateful. The police also went to my parents and grandmother's home, and after the match I filed an official police report here in Turkey. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me today with messages and support. It meant a lot. Thank you to the consulate for reacting so quickly and taking care of both me and my family.
But I want to make something clear: this is not normal. Even as athletes or public figures, it is not acceptable to receive threats against our families, especially on our private phone numbers and alongside disturbing images. We should not normalize such abuses in sport.
I hope that the WTA will continue to seriously investigate this situation and take stronger measures to protect the personal data and safety of the players and inform them immediately if there is a breach in their system. No female player should have to deal with this!“wrote Panna Udvardy on Instagram.
Other tennis players have also been threatened
The Panna Udvardy incident came just days after Italian player Lucrezia Stefanini also said she received threats before a qualifying match at the Indian Wells Open.
In this context, the WTA is investigating how the players' personal data was obtained. For now, the source of the threats is unknown, according to the BBC.
