Italian Tennis Star Reveals Disgusting Death Threats After Losing in Indian Wells Qualifiers
Lucrezia Stefanini says she received abusive messages from gamblers just over three hours after her loss in Indian Wells.
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Lucrezia Stefanini (via X/Quindici Zero)
- Lucrezia Stefanini received death threats from angry gamblers shortly after losing her match at the Indian Wells qualifiers.
- The threats included personal details about her family and a photo of a gun, causing her to fear for her safety.
- Stefanini reported the incident to the WTA, which increased her security and provided support during the tournament.
Italian tennis player Lucrezia Stefanini is the latest victim of brutal threats from angry gamblers online. Just a few weeks after Spanish player Sanchez Izquierdo revealed that during the Rosario Challenger, he received chilling phone calls, threatening him and his family, and even kidnapping, Stefanini was threatened just over three hours after her match in Indian Wells.
The World No.138 took part in the qualifying rounds of the Indian Wells Open, with the hopes of securing a place in the main draw. In her opening qualifiers match at the WTA 1000 tournament, she faced Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, who came from a set down to beat the Italian star 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Kasintseva went on to beat top seed Katie Boulter to book her place in the main draw of the event.
However, a devastated Stefanini left the court but got a WhatsApp message from angry gamblers a few hours later. The gamblers threatened her safety and the safety of her family also. The Italian star revealed in a video posted on Instagram that she feared for her life as she was still in the complex when she got the message.
This is not the first time that tennis players have complained bitterly about threats from gamblers online. In 2024 alone, 458 players were victims of threats from bettors, which forced tennis authorities to lobby gambling firms to close the betting accounts of gamblers found to have sent abusive messages to players after losing a match.
Most of the abusive messages have directed at female players on tour, and Stefanini has become the latest victim of this issue. The Italian star revealed that despite the threats not influencing her, it can inevitably have a psychological effect on her if she doesn’t voice out her ordeal:
Today I’m here making this video to tell you what happened to me yesterday. Yesterday around 1:00 PM, I received a WhatsApp message threatening me if I won yesterday’s match. They threatened me and my family, they mentioned my parents, the place where I was born, they sent me a photo of a gun. I’m making this video and sharing this story because I think it wasn’t right to put this pressure or this discomfort on me before a match and make me feel unsafe.
Last year, an AI-led detection system developed by the Signify Group found that 40 percent of the social media abuse directed at players came from frustrated gamblers, and that figure rose to 77 percent for direct abuse towards players’ personal accounts. More than 8,00 post were sent to 4,200 accounts that were identified as abusive.
Lucrezia Stefanini says she reported the abusive messages to the WTA
Last year, German star Eva Lys complained about abusive messages she got from gamblers online. The World No.70 fell to Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the China Open but got hate messages on social media despite reaching that stage for the first time in her career. Lucrezia Stefanini hasn’t had the best of careers on tour, but she’s pushing to break into the top 100.
Her last tour-level match was at the Transylvania Open, where she went through the qualifying rounds before crashing out in the opening round of the main draw. In the aforementioned video, she revealed that she reported the situation to the WTA, and they provided more security for her and were more attentive:
Having said that, I immediately went to report it to the WTA. Who provided me with more security, had my car driven to me after my match, and were very attentive. The whole tournament mobilized to make me feel safe. I wanted to tell you this, but despite that, I fought until the end to win my match because I can’t allow myself to be intimidated or influenced because of my job.
The WTA, alongside the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and some Grand Slam tournaments, utilizes the Signify Group’s Threat Matrix to monitor players’ social media accounts, protecting them from threats and abusive messages from fans, particularly gamblers.
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