ROME — Italian tennis player Lucrezia Stefanini says she and her family were threatened as she received a text message featuring a photo of a gun before a qualifying match for the Indian Wells tournament in California — an apparent attempt to affect the result for betting purposes.
Stefanini explained what happened in a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday from the BNP Paribas Open.
“I received a WhatsApp message in which I was threatened over winning yesterday’s match. They threatened me and my family and named my parents, the place where I was born, and they sent me a photo of a gun,” Stefanini said.
The 138th-ranked Stefanini was beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the first round of qualifying for the WTA 1000 event, the highest level in women’s tennis outside of the four Grand Slams and WTA Finals.
“I’m making this video and explaining what happened because I don’t think it’s right to put me under this pressure and unease before a match,” Stefanini said. “I immediately alerted the WTA, which provided me with more security. … The entire tournament mobilized to make me feel safe.
“Despite it all, I fought until the end to try and win my match, because I can’t permit these people to intimidate me.”
Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president Angelo Binaghi called the episode “intolerable.”
“Sending images of weapons, knowledge of personal information and intimidation toward an athlete marks an increase of disturbing quality that doesn’t have anything to do with sports,” Binaghi said.
“Whoever thinks they can condition a match through fear … should know that they have entered criminal territory,” Binaghi added. “This kind of behavior deserves an immediate legal response.”
Mattia Bellucci, another Italian player, was also recently threatened via social media.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency routinely collaborates on investigations of match-fixing in the sport, and the WTA and International Tennis Federation have said that in 2024 they had tracked 8,000 online posts and comments labeled as abusive, violent or threatening.
There have been moves to employ artificial intelligence to block threatening comments.
Binaghi suggested that besides “identifying and punishing those responsible” that “a drastically strengthened international system” is required to keep athletes safe.
