'This is too much' - Elena-Gabriela Ruse pleads with fans to stop sending hate messages after loss at Cincinnati Open

Following an early exit at the 2025 Cincinnati Open, tennis star Elena-Gabriela Ruse has urged fans to refrain from sending her abusive messages on social media.

The Romanian faced Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito in the first round in Cincinnati. In what many may consider an upset, Ito recorded a 6-2 7-6(6) win over the former World No.51.

Losing at such a grand stage is hard enough. However, Ruse would take to social media soon after her match to display several messages she had received from fans via social media.

Several of the comments were highly toxic in nature. Most ranged from personal insults aimed at her game, to other slut-shamming posts.

Svitolina received similar treatment in Canada

The amount of hate and abuse must have gotten to Ruse, as the often reserved Romanian took to social media with screenshots of several of these messages. Additionally, Ruse added a caption expressing her dismay

"Guys....This is too much :(," wrote the 27-year old in her Instagram stories.

Tennis players are forced to deal with enduring this harassment, particularly stars of the WTA. With the rise of social media, people have easier access to players and do not hesitate to target them with online abuse.

Just recently, former World No.3 Elina Svitolina shared messages showing she had received death threats from fans following her quarterfinal loss to Naomi Osaka at the Canadian Open. These threats were not only directed towards her, but they also included her family members. Furthermore, the Ukrainian received insults and threats based on her nationality.

Ruse has struggled to maintain form during the 2025 season. Although the Romanian finished runner-up to Belgian Elise Mertens at the Libema Open in June, she suffered an opening round loss at Wimbledon to reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Additionally, Ruse would lose in the opening round to Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova at the Prague Open two weeks later.