"It's daily when we're not even playing": Ajla Tomljanovic shines a light on constant barrage of 'scary' online abuse

Tuesday, 28 October 2025 at 13:44

A common theme especially among WTA stars in the past few months has been shining a light on abuse from those especially who have had. a bet go wrong on specific players. Ajla Tomljanovic though speaking at this week's Hong Kong Open said that it isn't just when she plays that she gets this abuse.

Tomljanovic said that it is also when she is off court trying to enjoy her day-to-day life that she gets messaged and that while at the age of 32 now, the Croatian born Aussie has had a time in her life when social media has not been prevalent she said it has been an issue since the start of it.

She added that she fears for the current generation who are only just now growing up having to deal with such a problem and that it is scary especially given that also she admits she has dealt with it since she was in her early 20's and going into her 30's now it is even worse.

“It’s horrible, I don’t know how someone can write the things we receive,” Tomljanovic told the South China Morning Post. “It’s daily, when we’re not even playing.

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“It’s been going on since social media came into our lives. It’s really disgusting. I’m more worried for the younger generation. It came into my life in my early 20s; I can’t imagine going through that when you’re becoming a young adult. It’s scary.”

It has especially been a theme in recent weeks with Eva Lys and Maria Sakkari being sent abuse. The former being told that she is better off as a prostitute and on OnlyFans than being a tennis player and being sent both death and rape threats. One wrote: "You're a pretty looking slut, just retire wtf you keep playing for." Lys herself accompanied said story by saying "Tennis is fun, until it's not."

On the same day and from the same tournament Maria Sakkari was also sent vile messages and also reminded of the fact that she was once playing in the WTA Finals now isn't at that point which saw her produce a reflective statement of how much this also gets her down.

While Belinda Bencic who won in Tokyo last week also saw this side in Ningbo. She was sent a rape threat from someone who has kids and shows as much in their profile. The Tokyo 2020 gold medalist shared among the insulting messages she received: "'I want to give you some advice. You don't know how to hold a racket, do I advise you to hold dicks. You have a bright future and I think you have a lot of experience as a prostitute.'"

Linda Noskova has also received similar and other players often speak out on it and Tomljanovic is the latest to call out the scary nature of what it is like nowadays to be a female tennis player and a sportsperson in general who plays in a sport where people heavily bet on the outcomes.

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Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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