Threats With Gun Photos Sent to Players; Osaka Tennis Player Connection Unconfirmed
Saturday at 10: 00 a. m. ET — Panna Udvardy and Lucrezia Stefanini confirmed they received threatening WhatsApp messages that included images of a gun; the involvement of any Osaka Tennis Player is unconfirmed. CONFIRMED: both players alerted tournament authorities and sought extra security while investigations continue.
Panna Udvardy: confirmed threats, police protection, and match outcome
CONFIRMED: Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, ranked 95th in the world, said she received WhatsApp messages on her personal phone on Thursday night that included photos of her family members and a picture of a gun. The consulate in Turkey arranged three police officers for her WTA 125 quarter-final match in Antalya on Friday, and police visited her parents’ and grandmother’s homes. Udvardy lost that match 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 to Anhelina Kalinina.
UNCONFIRMED as of Saturday at 10: 00 a. m. ET: Udvardy wrote that similar threats have been made against other players, but the identities and number of those allegedly affected have not been verified publicly. INITIAL REPORTS indicate she filed a police report in Turkey.
Lucrezia Stefanini: confirmed gun-photo threat before Indian Wells qualifying
CONFIRMED: Italian player Lucrezia Stefanini, ranked 138th, said she received a WhatsApp message containing a photo of a gun and named personal details about her family and birthplace before a qualifying match for Indian Wells. Stefanini alerted the tournament and the WTA, which provided additional security for her during the event; she lost in qualifying in three sets.
CONFIRMED: Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, described the episode as “intolerable” and said such intimidation amounts to criminal behavior and deserves an immediate legal response. CONFIRMED: another Italian player, Mattia Bellucci, was recently targeted with threats on social media.
Osaka Tennis Player mention and WTA investigation remain unresolved
CONFIRMED: The WTA and International Tennis Federation are aware of several players affected and are investigating how personal information was obtained; the source of the data is not yet known. CONFIRMED: the International Tennis Integrity Agency works routinely on match-fixing investigations and, together with the WTA and ITF, tracked roughly 8, 000 online posts this year labeled as abusive, violent or threatening.
UNCONFIRMED as of Saturday at 10: 00 a. m. ET: whether these WhatsApp messages were intended to influence match outcomes for betting purposes has not been established publicly. INITIAL REPORTS note tournament organizers mobilized security to protect players after the messages were received, but no public timeline for the WTA’s investigative milestones has been released.
Still, there are concrete observable triggers that will clarify the situation: police investigations tied to filed reports, the WTA’s internal findings on how personal contact information was accessed, and any formal legal filings that name suspects or motives. If investigators determine the messages were part of an effort to condition match results for betting purposes, legal action is expected given calls from officials for immediate legal responses.
CONFIRMED next step: the WTA investigation into the incidents is underway; no public date or time has been announced for completion or for any formal announcement. CONDITIONAL: If the WTA or police confirm that the threats were linked to attempts to influence match outcomes, then criminal investigations and potential prosecutions are expected to follow as the next phase.
