Eva Lys’ incredible run at the China Open came to an end on Thursday, as she fell to the World No. 3 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. While her fans were understandably disappointed by the result, what came as a shock was how the 23-year-old shed light on the darker side of being in the public eye. The German revealed that she had received vile death threats and abusive messages following her loss to Gauff, turning what should have been a career milestone into a moment marred by hate.

Having defeated Zhang Ruien, Iva Jovic, Elena Rybakina, and McCartney Kessler, Eva Lys reached her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal, where she faced two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff. Despite a spirited effort, the German was unable to advance, falling 3-6, 4-6 in straight sets. Ultimately, trolls crossed the line, once again prompting her to take to social media to expose the barrage of vile messages she continues to receive.

Earlier today, The Tennis Letter took to X to share a screenshot of Eva Lys’ Instagram story, captioning it, “Eva Lys shares a terrible message she received on IG after she lost her quarterfinal match in Beijing. Awful, sick people.” The screenshot revealed a disturbing message sent by a user who attached an image of the 23-year-old and wrote a vile rant filled with abuse and hate.

In response, Lys took a screenshot of the hateful message and posted it on her Instagram story, writing, “And let’s not forget the reality whenever we lose a match.” Her decision to share the message wasn’t just an act of self-defense, but a reminder of the ugly reality athletes face behind the spotlight. And if this feels familiar, it’s because the young German seems to have taken a page out of the World No. 2’s book, showing the same courage that Iga Swiatek displayed not too long ago.

After her third-round match against Camila Osorio ended in just 40 minutes, Swiatek had every reason to celebrate. Instead of heading straight back to her hotel, the Polish star stayed behind on Lotus Court at the China Open to spend time with her fans where she received gifts, greetings, and messages of love. However, that affection didn’t last long. When she later lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to Emma Navarro in the round of 16, Swiatek witnessed the darker side of fandom firsthand.

Just a day after her loss, the 24-year-old took to Instagram to share a collage of comments she received. The screenshots included cruel jabs such as, “Mediocre player,” “Very pathetic,” and “You have no discipline, no talent, no ability to make adjustments, no mental strength…it’s honestly shocking.” But instead of reacting emotionally, Swiatek handled the situation with grace. She wrote, “Nowadays, this is a sad part of our reality in sports. Bots. Betting. But also ‘fans.’”

So while it may seem like the 23-year-old is echoing Iga Swiatek’s stand against toxic fan behavior, this isn’t the first time Eva Lys has spoken out about it.

Eva Lys exposes the two-faced side of her own fans

Last year, after Eva Lys defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian at the Dubai Open, she once again found herself the target of online hate. Following the win, Lys shared a screenshot from her Instagram inbox that revealed a disturbing message from a tennis follower.

Interestingly, fans noticed something ironic – the troll’s profile photo showed that the same person had previously “loved” one of Lys’s Instagram stories. Highlighting this hypocrisy, the German star shared the screenshot on X with a biting caption: “Is that what you call character development?” It was a sharp yet subtle way of calling out how quickly admiration can turn into abuse.

The flood of unnecessary hatred directed toward players remains unacceptable. In fact, Lys’s experience echoed that of Naomi Osaka, who had shared a picture from her 2022 Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay only to receive a cruel message from a troll wishing she’d never win another Major. The incident deeply affected the Japanese star, prompting her to step back from social media for a while.

In the internet age, tennis players have long since had to deal with this kind of vitriol, sometimes prompted by those who have placed bets on the losing player in a match. Though the WTA has instructed gambling companies to take action against such individuals, the problem persists. With little protections given to the players, players like Coco Gauff have also called for social media companies to do more to prevent this spread of toxicity.