‘Hope you get cancer': Katie Boulter shares death threat horror
Alex de Minaur's English fiancee has revealed one fan went as far as wishing she got cancer among the worst of 'horrible' online abuse.
Katie Boulter has shared the details of the toxic reality of social media for professional athletes with BBC Sport, saying abusive messages have sadly become a normal part of their career.
The worst of it came after her first round at the French Open against Carole Monnet in May. Boulter lost the first set in a tiebreak, but despite winning the match in the end, it wasn't enough to escape the hate.
'Hope you get cancer u (sic) piece of s**t,' one message revealed.
'(B)uy candles and a coffin for your entire family with the you earned from the rigged match, corrupt player,' another said.
Boulter also can't escape messages abusing her Australian fiance de Minaur.
'Shame on you Alex !!! You are both fixers. Tell him he has no respect for his public!!!' it said.
'At the very start of my career, it's probably something I took very personally... getting comments about the way you look,' Boulter told the BBC.
'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.'
De Minaur, who crashed out of the London ATP 500 series yesterday and whose Wimbledon hopes are in danger, spoke in support of Boulter.
'It's great for her to step up and shine a light into this, which is something that happens to every single tennis player out there. Every single athlete, I would say,' said de Minaur.
'Hopefully there is something that can be done about it. It's something that's been going on for a while now. It's something that a lot of people have spoken out against, but it doesn't change.
The 28-year-old Boulter believes most of the abuse stems from angry gamblers with bets on matches, and is concerned about how similar treatment of younger players coming through can affect them.
Boulter, ranked 39th in the world, is preparing for her home Grand Slam at Wimbledon, where she worries the level of abuse could increase.
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