Pro Tennis Player Threatened by Furious Sports Bettor: 'I Will Come After You'

French professional tennis player Arthur Bouquier recently found himself at the receiving end of a chilling message from a disgruntled sports bettor during the Thionville Open on the ATP Challenger Tour. The bettor, enraged over a high-stakes gamble, issued threats that were both disturbingly personal and shockingly unhinged.

Bouquier, currently ranked No. 219 in the world, shared the threatening message on Instagram, originally written in French. A translation by Tennis World unveiled the bettor’s furious rant, which revolved around Bouquier’s upcoming match against Florian Broska (ranked No. 522). The bettor had wagered 2,000 euros on Bouquier to win in straight sets and made it abundantly clear that failure was not an option. "I will come after you," the message warned, escalating quickly into threats against Bouquier and his family.

The message didn’t stop there. It spiraled into insults about French tennis as a whole, claiming players avoid international competition due to mediocrity. The bettor ended with a haunting declaration: "I swear on my mother’s life that I will come for you. Right now, I am at the court in Thionville, where you’re playing exactly at 15:20. Be careful, and these are not empty threats. Good luck." Chillingly, the bettor even claimed to be present at the match venue.

In a move to ensure safety, Bouquier tagged the ATP Tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the tournament organizers in his post, alerting them to the situation. Fortunately, Bouquier managed to secure a victory, beating Broska 6-3, 6-4 in two sets, and no incidents occurred during or after the match.

This incident is a troubling reflection of a growing trend in sports, where athletes face harassment and threats from bettors via social media. Fellow French tennis star Caroline Garcia has also spoken out about receiving hundreds of abusive messages following losses, most recently at the 2024 U.S. Open. Sharing her frustration online, Garcia pointed to the unchecked nature of online harassment, calling for stricter regulations on anonymity and questioning the heavy promotion of betting companies in sports.

"Social media platforms don’t prevent it," Garcia wrote. "Tournaments and the sport keep partnering with betting companies, which attract unhealthy behavior. While I’m not saying betting should be banned, perhaps we shouldn’t promote it so aggressively. If someone said these things to me in public, they’d face legal consequences. Why is it different online?"

The tennis world continues to grapple with the darker side of sports betting, as athletes like Bouquier and Garcia demand better protections from the harassment that seems to come hand-in-hand with the industry.