"SHAMEFUL": Elina Svitolina gives brutal response after receiving death threats on social media following Canadian Open quarterfinal defeat

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina has had a brutal response to social media users after receiving death threats following a defeat at the Canadian Open. In the recent past, a lot of athletes playing different sports have complained about how they have received abuse and, at times, death threats as well.

The abuse on social media has taken such a toll on some athletes that they have eventually left the platforms as well. Svitolina has become the latest name added to that list who received death threats after she lost in the quarterfinal of the ongoing WTA 1000 event in Montreal to former world number one Japan’s Naomi Osaka in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday. Svitolina shared a screenshot of the death threat she received on her Instagram account.

"I just hope you fu****g die tonight, your money from selling matches will be of no use to you if you end up with my d**k in your mouth after killing you, STUPID,” the user wrote. "To all the bettors: I'm a mom before I'm an athlete. The way you talk to women - to mothers - is SHAMEFUL. If your moms saw your messages, they'd be disgusted," wrote Svitolina in response.

Despite the result, Svitolina would be very happy with her performance in the competition. Tuesday’s defeat was Svitolina’s 11th in 43 matches this year. The most disappointing aspect for Svitolina will be the fact that Tuesday’s defeat was Svitolina’s fifth loss in the seven quarterfinal appearances in 2025. Her only wins in the last-eight in the quarterfinals this year came at the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and in the Madrid Open against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima. Both of those wins came in the month of April.

On the other hand, the result was a great one for Osaka, who has now secured her spot in the semifinal of a WTA event for the third time this year. Her first semifinal appearance was in the ASB Classic WTA 250 event in January, where she defeated America’s Alycia Parks. She came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2. Osaka’s other semifinal appearance came in the semifinal of the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo, where she defeated Leolia Jeanjean with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.

Her semifinal opponent will be Denmark’s Clara Tauson, who cemented her spot in the last-four after upsetting the 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Talking after the match, Osaka admitted that she is happy to be playing in the competition and expressed her opinion about what she is expecting from Tauson in the next round’s contest.

"I'm really happy. I'm also really excited," said Osaka. "After Wimbledon (a third-round loss), I was really disappointed, and then I just kind of let go of my expectations. And now we're here. I find it kind of ironic, but I'm happy about it. I think for me, I'm just having a lot of fun playing and I'm really glad to be here. She's (Tauson) really tough. I played her in Auckland this year and I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So, I'm really excited that I'm healthy and I hope that it's a good match for everyone that comes and watches."

Tauson, on the other hand, dedicated her win to her late grandfather, who passed away just two days ago. "I really wanted to win for him today," said Tauson. "I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he's watching." It will be the second meeting between the two players in professional tennis. In the previous meeting, which was in the final of the ASB Classic, Tauson came out on top after being awarded a walkover against Osaka, who was forced to retire because of a fitness concern.