Former world No 3 Elina Svitolina said she was subjected to online abuse, including death threats, after her Canadian Open semi-final defeat to Naomi Osaka, blaming the “shameful” behaviour on disgruntled gamblers.

The 10th seed from Ukraine crashed to a 6-2 6-2 loss to Osaka in their last-four meeting in Montreal, later highlighting the abuse directed at her and her family.

“To all the bettors: I’m a mom before I’m an athlete,” Svitolina wrote in an Instagram story in which she attached screenshots of the messages that included death threats.

“The way you talk to women – to mothers – is SHAMEFUL. If your moms saw your messages, they’d be disgusted.”

Some of the abusive messages Svitolina shared referenced the ongoing war in her country following Russia’s invasion.

Tennis players, like many athletes, often have to deal with the wrath of gamblers online, with a recent study undertaken by various governing bodies of tennis showing that angry gamblers were responsible for nearly half of all the abuse that was directed at players on social media last year.

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was one of those, saying after her loss at last year’s US Open that “unhealthy betting” was one of the top reasons players were targeted, taking aim at social media platforms for not doing enough to filter the abuse.

She had said that it hurt players, especially after tough losses when they were “emotionally destroyed” and she worried about how younger players would be affected.

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