Murray’s mother says young actors frequently receive death threats

Young tennis stars receive death threats from players who lost money betting on them Judy Murray.

The mother of two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has said social media has given money-losing players the opportunity to directly harass tennis players.

Judy said:

“I know when I competed in the Fed Cup, some of the girls on our team had serious problems because a lot of people were betting on the Cup. When they lose, they react.

And if you are one of the players who lost the match, then you receive death threats and insults.

Between 2011 and 2016, Murray captained England’s Fed Cup team, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup, and coached players including Laura Robson, Joanna Konta, Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong.

Murray continued:

“As an older person, I know it’s scary, but I can deal with it better than someone who’s a teenager because it’s scary.

“This is a big problem for teens because social media is such a big part of their lives and it’s hard for them not to look at replies and notifications.”

Last year, 24-year-old Australian tennis star Priscilla Hong revealed she regularly received disgusting messages on social media from upset players saying they wished she would “die of cancer”.

Ms Murray spoke about the dangers of online gamblers while promoting her new book Wild Card at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Monday (October 9).

Wild Card is her second book (but first fiction) about 37-year-old Abi, who gets a second chance to play center court at Wimbledon after receiving a Wild Card and goes on to win against all odds.

Murray is an outspoken advocate for women’s rights in tennis, and the novel touches on issues that concern her, including the ongoing abuse of power in the sport.

He said:

“I saw Wild Card as an opportunity to highlight the many issues that still exist for women in tennis.

Because there is an imbalance between athletes and coaches, there will of course be opportunities for abuse of power and trust; these can be financial, physical, sexual and emotional.

It’s not just the coaches that are the problem, sometimes it’s the managers, the players too, and there are many examples in tennis where things go wrong.

But you have to know who to go to. Oftentimes players are aware or mature enough to know what happened to them when they were young and who to talk to about it.

Sometimes they worry, “If I complain, I’ll lose my place in the team, I’ll lose my funding,” and they don’t talk about it.

I am passionate about the need for more people that women and girls can turn to if they have any issues,” concluded Judy Murray.