“We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive this messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss.” This was the reaction of an emotionally devastated Caroline Garcia last season. Back in August, during the US Open first round, the World No.71 faced a surprise loss against Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa. As a result, she received endless hateful messages. Especially from fans who were involved in gambling and lost their money due to her defeat. However, it seems gambling is here to stay as organizers continue to partner with betting companies.

Days ago, 2025 Australian Open queen Madison Keys reflected her views on betting, saying there’s no “black-and-white answer” to whether it should be allowed or not. “So at the end of the day, a lot of the tournaments make a lot of money from the partnerships that they have with betting companies. That’s what keeps us having jobs,” reported Tennis World USA on March 6. And now, former World No.1 Iga Swiatek has revealed her thoughts on this subject matter. So what does she think?

Ahead of her India Wells campaign, the five-time major champion sat down for a press conference. Several reporters were keen to know her views on betting in tennis. Is it good or bad for the sport? In her response, Swiatek seemed slightly hesitant to speak at all. “Oh, I don’t think I’m ready to answer that question because I never really thought about that much, because I always thought that this is how it is.,” But why so?

“There’s no point to think if it’s good or bad, because it’s always going to be there since it’s big business.” On the issue of online abuse, she added, “I think, for sure, the thing that we as players feel is the negative comments and hate, because people are sometimes losing money because we lose or because we win. So, this is what impacts us”

“For sure, I feel like it’s not positive, and not good at all. But, you know, hate is going to be out there on the Internet, anyway. There are ways to stop it with like algorithms and the apps that are blocking it a little bit. But, you know, people put out on the Internet whatever they want, because it’s easy, you know. So this is the part I would say that hits us.”

It turns out angry gamblers are behind a huge chunk—48%—of the 12,000 abusive social media messages tennis players have gotten this year, according to an AI system, as reported by BBC. But when it comes to the relevance of betting culture in the sport, Iga Swiatek said she’s “not really that well-oriented to really say. Sorry.”

Meanwhile, many other WTA figures have also expressed their perspectives on this issue lately.

Unlike Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur shows no hesitation in calling out people indulged in gambling

Back in January, the World No.32 Ons Jabeur sat down for an episode of the Nothing Major podcast. During her interaction, she lashed out at the people who go after players because of the match results. Without mincing words on growing betting practices, she said, “First thing comes to mind, you know, all the betting and the abuse that players get on social media. We don’t talk about that a lot.” Continuing further, she added, “Maybe they don’t know what is really happening and the kind of messages we receive”

“Obviously, some players are experiencing it more than others. Young players are coming up, and they don’t know how to deal with social media abuse. I think it is an important topic to address and definitely maybe changing the betting system that is happening around the betting community.”

Telling about instances of coming across hateful comments herself, she admitted, “I do get a lot. Some things are very, like, very extreme. But I got used to it, and I would not say I don’t care. I obviously do care. At the end of the day, I remind myself, these people are hopeless and behind the screens.”

What are your thoughts on gambling in tennis and its impact on players? Let us know in the comments below.