"It's so horrible": Andy Murray fans condemn online abuse directed to player after 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel defeat

Tennis fans have come to Andy Murray's defense and have condemned the online abuse that the player received from betters after his defeat at the 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has had a difficult time on the ATP Tour as of late, suffering a string of early exits. Murray was defeated in the opening round at his two most recent tournaments, losing to Alex de Minaur at the China Open and to Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters.

Although he was able to progress to the second round at the ATP 500 tournament in Basel with a closely contested straight-sets win over Yannick Hanfmann, the Brit was unable to get past Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who ousted the former World No. 1 in a three-set thriller.

In the wake of his defeat, fans have had to defend the player against hateful comments online. Many have taken to social media themselves to condemn the abuse from betters, calling it "horrible" and "sad".

"It’s not new, but the amount of abuse players get from those who bet on matches is INSANE. [...] It’s not so much the most successful players that are (sadly) used to it that worry me, it’s the newcomers who are not yet desensitised," wrote one.

"It's so horrible, honestly. Murray's probably the greatest player of his era (minus the Big 3, of course)," added another.

Meanwhile, another suggested that the problem had less to do with tennis and more to do with gambling and betting in general.

"Not a tennis problem, it's a bigger problem than that. Gambling is poison," they wrote.

"I wondered why there’s always such vitriol toward him when he pays. I hope he’s helped them lose a ton of money. They deserve it," commented another.