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Two tennis players received threatening messages, each received a photo of a gun and were ordered to forfeit matches.
Panna Udvardy and Lucrezia Stefanini detailed the disturbing messages in which they and their families were threatened.
“Last night around midnight, I received several very disturbing messages on WhatsApp from an unknown number on my personal phone. The person told me that if I didn’t lose my match today, my family members would be harmed,” Udvardy posted on Instagram, along with screenshots of the messages, about her match against Anhelina Kalinina at the Megasaray Hotels Open, which she lost in straight sets.
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Lucrezia Stefanini and Panna Udvardy received threatening messages, ordering them to miss recent tennis matches. (Flaviu Buboi, Robert Prangevia Getty Images)
“They said they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers. They even sent photos of my family members and a photo of a gun.”
The message Udvardy received said that the culprit or culprits “know everything about your family and you” and were “ready for war if necessary, and we will not hesitate to send them to your mother’s house to kidnap her until she returns the money we would lose because of your disobedience.”
Udvardy said she contacted the Women’s Tennis Association and they sent three additional police officers to her match “for which I am very grateful.” The police also went to the homes of his parents and grandmother, he added.
Panna Udvardy of Hungary in action against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s singles first round match on Day 2 of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
The message Stefanini received was eerily similar.
“I received a WhatsApp message threatening me for winning yesterday’s match. They threatened me and my family and named my parents, the place where I was born, and sent me a photo of a gun,” Stefanini said in an Instagram post.
Stefanini also told the WTA about the situation and also received security reinforcements.
“I’m making this video and explaining what happened because I don’t think it’s right to put myself under this pressure and concern before a game,” Stefanini said.
Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy in action during the first day of Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2024 on January 28, 2024, in Linz, Austria. (Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images for MatchMaker)
Udvardy said the messages are “not normal.”
“Even as athletes or public figures, it is not acceptable to receive threats against our families, especially on our private phone numbers and along with disturbing images. We should not normalize abuse like this in sport.”
Stefanini lost her Indian Wells qualifying match in three sets.
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