US Open star receives rape and death threat letter days before tournament
Australian tennis player Ellen Perez has shared the disgusting online abuse she received on social media ahead of the US Open.
Perez, who will compete in the doubles at Flushing Meadows alongside defending champion Lyudmyla Kichenok, was sent rape and death threats by an individual, just days before the final Grand Slam of the year.
In the build-up to this month's US Open, Perez has been competing at the Monterrey Open alongside Kichenok.
Here, the pair reached the quarter-final after beating Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Martins but after a solid showing, they failed to reach the semis following a 7-6, 6-4 defeat against Leolia Jeanjean and Maria Kozyreva.
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Shortly after the match was over, Perez was sent a vile message on Instagram, which she screenshotted and shared on her story. The 29-year-old captioned the post: "I love a good love letter."
Perez, who has won eight doubles championships in her career to date, recently reached the doubles semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open, defeating four former WTA 1000 champions in the process.
As a result, the Australian strengthened her doubles ranking and climbed one spot to world No.18. She also remains Australia’s No.1 women’s doubles player.
Katie Boulter reveals scale of online abuse
Earlier this year, British tennis player Katie Boulter gave an eye-opening insight into the "disgusting" online abuse she receives.
It came after she was sent a number of vile messages during her French Open first-round match against Carole Monnet in May, which included messages such as, "Hope you get cancer" and "Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me".
Speaking to the BBC about her experiences, she said: "At the very start of my career, it's probably something I took very personally... getting comments about the way you look. It becomes more apparent every single time you go on your phone."
Boulter, who says such abusive messages have become the norm, continued: "I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now."
Jack Kenmare