"You fight like an animal, this is the only thing you get" - Anna Blinkova devastated after deluge of hate messages target her after Merida Open loss

Anna Blinkova was heartbroken after receiving a deluge of hate messages, following a devastating defeat at the 2024 Merida Open Akron. Blinkova was stunned by her 17-year-old compatriot, Alina Korneeva, in straight sets.

Though unfortunate, it is not rare to see tennis players on the receiving end of hate from fans following a defeat. The intensity of this hate may reach higher levels if a player, who was a favorite heading into a certain match, loses to a significantly lower-ranked opponent. This trend continued when Russian tennis player Anna Blinkova lost to her compatriot.

Blinkova was competing at the Marida Open Akron, a WTA 250 event, where she was seeded fifth. After Lesia Tsurenko retired in their opening match in the deciding set, the 26-year-old faced her compatriot Alina Korneeva in the second round.

The precocious 17-year-old was far from being the favorite in this matchup but staged a phenomenal performance to take out the fifth-seed 7-5, 6-2.

However, this heartbreaking loss was not the end of Blinkova's woes as many started piling abusive messages on her social media. She took to Instagram to call them out via her story.

“When you fight like an animal and give everything on the court, and in the end, this is the only thing you get,” Anna Blinkova wrote.

Via Anna Blinkova Instagram

These hate messages tend to come from people who place bets on these matches. And if the player they thought would win loses, they seemingly take their frustration out on the players on their social media. There have been many players who have been in this unfortunate position like Marketa Vondrousova and Caroline Garcia.

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"I’m just a normal girl working really hard and trying my best" - Not only Anna Blinkova, but Caroline Garcia also shared her heartbreaking experience with hate messages

Caroline Garcia (Source: Getty)

Not only Anna Blinkova but Caroline Garcia also recently penned an emotional note on her social media stating how the hate messages hurt her. She said that she was working hard in order to get the best results and tried her best to protect herself from such negativity. However, she still condemned such behavior.

"This are some of the messages I received lately after loosing some matches. Just a few of them. There’s hundreds. And now, being 30 years old, although they still hurt, because at the end of the day, I’m just a normal girl working really hard and trying my best, I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not ok," she wrote.

The Frenchwoman then talked about how a lot of players went through a similar ordeal in their everyday lives. Many players like Iga Swiatek, Nick Kyrgios and others came out in Garcia's support.