"Death threats for me, for my family" - Marco Trungelliti on dealing with abuse after previously reporting his fellow players for match-fixing

Marco Trungelliti recently disclosed that he is regularly subject to abuse from fans for his report to Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) about few individuals that approached him for match-fixing a few years ago.

Trungelliti, ranked 236th in the world, is currently competing at the ATP Challenger event in Buenos Aires. The Argentinian recently sat down for an interview withLa Nacion, where he divulged a few details about his tough life on the circuit these days.

The 33-year-old first had an interaction with match-fixers in 2015. He was told that players could earn a few thousand dollars for fixing an ITF Futures-level match, and $50,000-$100,000 for fixing an ATP-level match. Trungelliti subsequently reported the respective individuals to to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).

The organization's investigation was fruitful, as three of his compatriots, Nicolas Kicker, Patricio Heras and Federico Coria, were eventually suspended from professional tennis for match-fixing and other related offenses in 2018.

Marco Trungelliti's confession, however, has caused him to fall out with a large section of fans, going by his recent account. The Argentinian even revealed this week that he is not only subject to unkind messages from trolls, but he and his family also receive death threats on social media. He said:

"At the time my Instagram was hacked. But, later, it becomes a routine that they insult me every time I lose. Everything is fine until a threat becomes greater. I receive death threats for me, for my family."

The 33-year-old also revealed during the interview that while he hasn't talked to Coria and Heras much, he has had several friendly interactions with Kicker since the incident.

"With two (Coria and Heras), I don't talk at all, nor do I exchange glances or anything. And I don't care exactly what they do with their lives. And with Nicolás we already greet each other every time we see each other sincerely," Trungelliti said.

"You can ask him to find out what he thinks... He had said that the problem hadn't been me and I think he showed it when I touched him on the shoulder. I said, 'Hello Nico, how are you?' and he greeted me well, looking into my eyes. He took responsibility for it and clearly paid the most for it."

"Mentally it was quite rough" - Marco Trungelliti on being shunned by tennis fans after his report to TUI

Marco Trungelliti prepares to serve

During the conversation with the local daily, Marco Trungelliti asserted that his motivation to compete was heavily impacted after being ostracized by fans.

"Mentally it was quite rough. In 2020, I was ready: we talked about it with my wife, I couldn't take it anymore, I was fed up, I didn't want to be on the circuit. I was going to train out of habit, nothing more," the Argentinian remarked.

He also denounced the current state of state of affairs in the men's game. He said:

"The system is a disaster. There is a belief that players outside the top 100 are all bad and that you have to be thankful if you earned 500 euros. That is abuse, psychological abandonment."