‘I’m world No.536 however I get every day loss of life threats from tennis punters’

Rising tennis star Amelie Van Impe has opened up about the horrific abuse she’s faced from angry punters.

The young athlete, who’s just starting to make her mark on the professional circuit, has shockingly been subjected to threats of murder and rape over her match outcomes. Currently ranked 536th globally, Van Impe hasn’t yet graced the grandest arenas of tennis. Yet, she said she is being targeted with the most insidious messages anybody could imagine. And they are all coming from people who are betting on her matches and losing.

The Belgian prodigy revealed the harassment kicked off as soon as she entered tournaments where betting was involved. She believes 90 per cent of the hate is hurled by men, with messages ranging from “threats to come and find me, to demands for repayment”.

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“I’m certainly not the only one to be insulted by punters after every defeat,” she said to Belgian news source 7sur7. “Zizou Bergs has also raised this problem on several occasions. And I also hear from other players who receive a lot of messages. Unfortunately, I’m no exception.”

The 19-year-old recounted how she’s been deluged with vile messages since she was 16, which coincides with her debut in an international tournament where betting was on the table. “If everything goes well at a tournament and I play four or five matches, I get at least 20 messages,” she added. “Last year, I played in 30 international tournaments.

“In fact, I get messages every day from frustrated punters who are angry because they’ve lost money because of me. Two minutes after a match, they’re already there. Mostly on Instagram, sometimes on WhatsApp. Somehow they’ve got my number. Yes, they really do make a lot of effort.”

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It’s a grim snapshot of the dark side of the internet and how the gambling culture has morphed sports into something more sinister for those in the spotlight. Athletes aren’t just playing for the love of the game anymore; they’re unwittingly becoming pawns in the high-stakes world of betting, where fortunes can be won and squandered in an instant.

While many gamblers take their losses on the chin, a disturbing number lash out at the athletes they blame for their financial woes. Celebs and sports stars are increasingly looking to social media giants and lawmakers to crack down on this toxic behaviour, but change is on the slow track.

Van Impe shared some of the vile abuse hurled her way, with one message wishing cancer upon her, while another branded her a “cheating s**t”. Some trolls even stoop to menacing her family, snatching pictures from her personal accounts and insinuating harm to her loved ones.

“Some send a photo of their app or bank statement. I’ve never seen anyone bet more than €10,000 on me, but the amounts are often very high,” she revealed. “For example, they bet €2,000 that I’ll make the first double fault or that I’ll win the first set. It’s striking to see how much risk they take and how much money they bet without knowing the players or the match conditions.”

There is a helpline available for players dealing with such issues, and federations frequently work to identify and penalise the offenders. However, these culprits simply create new profiles to evade capture.

“If I had the power, I’d shut down all the gambling platforms,” Van Impe declared. “But I know I can’t do much. People like this will always find a way to make money from sport. All we can do is accept how things are.”