If people follow you, what you amplify matters. Betting is already deeply tied to tennis, and its darker side is becoming impossible to ignore. A small group of bettors routinely turns losses into abuse, threats, and harassment. So when a prominent tennis insider boosts a betting platform, fans are going to call it out. José Morgado just found that out.

Tennis insider José Morgado posted “lol” while reposting Polymarket’s claim that someone had bet $550,000 on Andrey Rublev to win, with a potential payout of $880,354.

To which a fan lashed out and wrote, “nice job giving these t***s free advertising, José.”

The post is drawing criticism as betting-related abuse continues to affect players. Caroline Garcia faced it after losing to Renata Zarazúa at the 2024 US Open, sharing messages from angry bettors that targeted both her and her family.

Garcia later said, “Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are humans.”

Garcia also questioned why tennis continues promoting betting companies despite the abuse players receive afterward.

“Tournaments and the sport keep partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting,” she wrote. She added, “The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people.”

Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula were among the players who supported Garcia’s comments.

After losing to Lois Boisson at the 2025 French Open, Pegula shared messages accusing her of deliberately throwing the match, attacking her family and even mocking the death of her dog, Tucker. “These betters are insane and delusional,” she wrote, adding, “I get told my family should get cancer and die from people on here on a regular basis.”

A year later, nothing has changed. And less than 48 hours ago, Pegula called out tennis for profiting from betting while players face the abuse it fuels.

“Players can’t do anything with a betting-type sponsorship, but tournaments profit from a lot of that stuff,” she said, noting that players receive abuse from bettors regardless of whether they win or lose.

Pegula also questioned seeing betting companies promoted courtside and on television while players face the consequences. Now, Morgado is facing similar criticism for giving Polymarket more visibility.

The numbers show this is not a handful of angry comments. During a January-to-October 2024 monitoring period that included Wimbledon and the US Open, Threat Matrix analyzed 2.47 million posts and identified around 12,000 as abusive. Angry gamblers were responsible for 48% of that abuse. With those numbers in the background, fans were quick to question Morgado’s decision to amplify Polymarket.

Fans Call Out Betting’s Growing Presence in Tennis

One fan questioned Morgado’s relationship with Polymarket, asking, “Dude, please tell me this is a one-off of you quote-tweeting Polymarket, and you’re not paid by them to promote your betting site.”

To which another fan replied, “He retweeted their stuff before, so he’s getting the bag from Polymarket.”

For players, the concern is not simply losing a match and reading criticism afterward. Alice Tubello received threats after losing an ITF match, with bettors targeting her through social media.

Keeping such cases in mind, a fan wrote, “How much u got paid for this post? Don’t try to mask it.”

Someone also created a fake account using her identity and made false claims involving her family. With betting continuing to grow around tennis, players and fans are now asking where the line is between sports and betting.