When Jodie Burrage stepped onto the court to play her opening match at the Chennai Open, it was almost sixteen months since she had played a Tour-level main draw match at the 2025 Wimbledon. Injuries and off-form had seen her play a limited schedule, mostly on the ITF circuit, but her Tour-level comeback did not have a happy ending, both on and off the court.

“Nice Welcome Back to the Tour.” said Burrage on an Instagram story. “I remember why I left. When will something be done?” The caption was accompanied by a full-screen recording that the Brit had shared on her Story, showing the wave of abusive messages she had received from users after losing the match.

One would understand the severity of the situation when “You are a quitter” and “Refund my money” were some of the most watered-down texts Burrage received. Vile death threats and messages filled with verbal abuse filled the rest of the backlash, with most of the messages coming from disgruntled bettors who lost money, as the Brit lost to the home favorite Vaishnavi Adkar in the first round.

Having split the first two sets, it was Adkar who held the advantage initially in the third set with a 3-1 lead. However, Burrage fought back and at 5-3 was on the verge of closing out the match. The home favorite did not relent, though, completing a splendid comeback, closing the final set 7-5.

Such comebacks are quite common in tennis, but that does not stop the abuse that players get. Gambling and social media abuse go hand-in-hand, as the WTA Threat Matrix has shown that more than 42 percent of the identified abusive messages across social media platforms come from bettors who lose money. Another key identified pattern showed that 77 percent of the total abusive messages sent to a player’s inbox were from gamblers, something that even Burrage shared on her Instagram story, with most messages coming via DMs in her inbox.

Social media abuse is not limited to lower-ranked players; some top players are also targeted. Coco Gauff spoke about receiving hateful comments after her semifinal loss at Wimbledon this year, while the racial abuse the 22-year-old received after the China Open has been well documented. Even the world No.1, Elena Rybakina, had to take some time off from social media this year, after the comments on her social media were too much to handle for the Kazakh.

The collaborations between betting platforms and tennis tournaments have also come under scrutiny, with some top players, like Jessica Pegula, taking a strong stance against the US Open’s decision to partner with prediction platforms as sponsors. For Burrage, she did receive some support from her peers, with Eva Lys also commenting on the Brit’s story and tagging the WTA to show her support.

As for Burrage, the Brit’s comeback to the Tour-level tennis is nothing short of exemplary, irrespective of the messages that have flooded her inbox.

Jodie Burrage Had to Battle Through Injuries to Make a Comeback

One Tour-level final, six titles at the ITF Tour, and a career-best ranking of 85. While Burrage’s resume does not make for great reading, there is no denying that the Brit has grit, without which it would have been impossible to recover from multiple injuries throughout her career. The Brit has suffered from serious wrist and leg injuries in her career, which put serious doubt in her mind regarding her ability to come back.

“I didn’t know how much more fight I had,” said Burrage in an interview before the 2025 Australian Open. “It takes a lot.” 

The Brit has mostly dabbled in the ITF events this year as well, reaching three semifinals. She did play in the qualifying rounds at the bigger events, such as the China Open and the US Open, but the Brit could not enter the main draw.

While her first-round exit in Chennai will halt her progress for a bit, the Brit has shown she can still win matches, having entered the event on the back of a semifinal run at an ITF event in Wrexham, where she showed glimpses of good form.