Tennis player Jodie Burrage gave a shocking glimpse into the social media abuse she received after a loss.

The 23-year-old suffered a 6-4 6-4 defeat to Lucia Bronzetti at the Open de Limoges, a WTA 125K tournament in France.

The result was not particularly a shock, with world number 57 Bronzetti ranked 76 spots higher than Burrage.

Despite this, the British star received a barrage of social media abuse following her defeat.

What happened after Jodie Burrage's defeat at the Open de Limoges?

Burrage offered a glimpse of the abuse she received on an Instagram post, sharing a selection of the comments on her Story.

She made light of the situation, accompanying the screen-recording with the caption: “Hahahaha I see everybody is in the Merry spirit 🎄👌😂”.

The abuse, which branded Burrage “pathetic” and a “disgrace”, also included death threats.

Remarkably, the comments were posted on a pinned Instagram post from June, showing the social media users had sought out Burrage’s profile to send her abuse.

Screenshot from Jodie Burrage's Instagram post

Screenshot from Jodie Burrage's Instagram post

While social media abuse directed at female athletes is nothing new, there is a particular issue within tennis due to those gambling on the outcome of matches.

Earlier this year, Australian tennis player Priscilla Hon appeared on SBS to discuss the problem.

“When I see them I don't feel much, but that doesn't make it okay,” she said. “It's sad that humanity goes down to this level just for losing a bet on a tennis match.”

Tennis player Jodie Burrage at Wimbledon

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 27: Jodie Burrage of Great Britain reacts against Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine during the Women's Singles First Round match during Day One of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 27, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Who is Jodie Burrage?

Burrage, the British number three behind Harriet Dart and Emma Raducanu, is currently at a career-high ranking of 136th in the world.

With four ITF titles to her name, she made her WTA Tour debut in January 2021.

Burrage’s best result came this year at the Eastbourne International, when she defeated top seed Paula Badosa, the current world number 13.

She made it to the round of 16 at the WTA 500 event, but ended up losing to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.

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