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'I love a good love letter': Doubles star shares disgusting message from abusive fan following Monterrey defeat

Originally posted on TennisUpToDate.com | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 11:52 AM ET

A new case of online abuse has been reported by Australian tennis player Ellen Perez, the world No. 18 in doubles. This week, Perez competed in the Monterrey Open women's doubles tournament alongside Liudmila Kichenok.

The 29-year-old Australian is a regular on the doubles circuit, with a career-high ranking of world No. 7. She reached the final of the 2023 WTA Finals and has made a couple of major tournament semifinal appearances, winning eight doubles titles and finishing as a runner-up 15 times in her career.

In Monterrey, Perez partnered with Ukrainian doubles specialist Kichenok. As the second seed, they won their first-round match against Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Gamarra (6-2, 6-3) but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Leolia Jeanjean and Maria Kozyreva (7-6, 6-4). This was their final tournament together before the US Open.

Despite being clear favorites for the quarterfinal victory, especially after a strong run to the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, they lost. The defeat was not only disappointing on the court, but it also brought a wave of hateful messages to Perez on social media.

Perez received a direct message on Instagram from a person, presumably a gambler, who sent her a disgustingly abusive message. The individual insulted the Australian tennis player for her loss and said he hoped she would die or commit suicide. The message also included the vile statement that he "would love to see the player raped."

Perez posted the deplorable message she received on her social media, sarcastically adding, "I love a good love letter." The post was later deleted from her stories.

Ellen Perez and Lyudmyla Kichenok practicing pic.twitter.com/hxsac9wzEZ
— Ken McKinnon (@mckinnon88877) August 7, 2025

A call to action: Tennis bodies reveal alarming online abuse statistics

Cases of online abuse have multiplied in recent years, and several of the biggest stars in the WTA have spoken out. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula are just a few who have commented on the constant hateful messages they receive on social media. This problem, however, doesn't just affect the top players.

Recently, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) revealed disturbing new figures that highlight the extent of online abuse targeting professional tennis players, with angry gamblers being responsible for a staggering 40% of all detected abuse.

An AI-powered system, developed by the Signify Group, tracked 1.6 million posts and comments from January to December 2024. The system verified approximately 8,000 of these as abusive, violent, or threatening. Of the 4,200 abusive accounts identified, 97 prolific users were responsible for nearly a quarter (23%) of all harmful messages. Most shockingly, just five players received 26% of all the abuse detected.

Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players’ Council, praised the efforts but stressed that the responsibility should not fall solely on tennis authorities. "Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure... It’s time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source."

"Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threats and abuse is a key priority for us," a spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said. "Given the clear evidence... we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue."

This article first appeared on TennisUpToDate.com and was syndicated with permission.

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