Remember when Carlos Alcaraz admitted, “I get them too. There are really extravagant messages,” or when Jannik Sinner faced a wave of hate during his ban period, only for close friend Jack Draper to step in and defend him? This toxic underbelly of tennis fandom isn’t going away. Whether it’s the ATP or WTA, players continue to battle an invisible opponent: online abuse. The latest victim? Rising 20-year-old American star Alex Michelsen. 

A small clip from the recent episode of The Changeover podcast featuring Jody Maginley and Justin Roberts was uploaded to their official Instagram account. Therein, they candidly discussed the flood of vitriol many players face on social media.

Maginley kicked off the chat by asking Roberts about the most messages or DMs he had ever received from angry bettors or fans. Roberts coolly replied, “Less than like seven, at most.” But things escalated quickly when Maginley shifted the spotlight to rising American star Alex Michelsen. He said, “We Collab with lot of the athletes, so we have on. So we recently had on Michelsen, and Michelsen was playing, I don’t even know what match it was like recently that he lost. Maybe Washington.” That loss, according to Maginley, unleashed a flood of rage. He revealed what the 20-year-old had to face afterwards:

“Bro, I swear he got over 500, like comments. So that’s just on a post that we collab with. So I can’t imagine what his DMs look like,” he added, stunned by the magnitude of online abuse. “Oh my god. Like the most I get is like 10 maximum, in my DMs or comments or stuff. But he gets over 500, bro. Like ridiculous.” At the Citi DC Open in Washington 2025, Alex Michelsen lost in the second round to Daniel Evans, with a straight‑sets score of 6‑4, 6‑4. Michelsen was unable to convert break points, while Evans broke serve once in each set to secure the win. But even then, this isn’t new territory for Michelsen.

The then-19-year-old made his Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon 2023. In his opening-round clash against seasoned South African pro Lloyd Harris, Michelsen stunned spectators early, storming to a two-sets-to-love lead. Harris, a former US Open quarterfinalist with years of experience, clawed his way back. Michelsen’s level dipped, and despite flashes of brilliance, he couldn’t close it out, losing 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) in a match that lasted nearly four hours. For most, it would’ve been seen as a valiant effort, but social media doesn’t always care for nuance. 

Within minutes, toxic messages started pouring in. He was accused of “choking”; some bluntly told him to “pack his bags”, and others went as far as calling for him to quit tennis altogether. While this is cruel enough, he’s still a part of the overall statistic.

According to a joint WTA/ITF report based on the Threat Matrix monitoring system (launched January 2024), a total of 458 players received direct abusive messages or threats in 2024, often sent after match losses. The same report highlights that angry gamblers were responsible for a significant portion of abuse, accounting for around 40% of all verified abusive content on social media, and as much as 77% of direct threats via personal accounts or DMs. A small number of prolific accounts were especially damaging: 97 accounts produced 23% of abuse, with 5 players absorbing 26% of all tracked harassment. 

As tennis continues to grapple with this digital hostility, the numbers make one thing clear: for many players, the toughest battles aren’t just on court but also in their inboxes.