Heather Watson is the British no. 2, at only 24-years-old.
Last year, Watson came within two points of beating the world champion Serena Williams, and so her appearance at Wimbledon this year had been highly anticipated.
She went out in her first game on Thursday and, within minutes, was targeted by angry online trolls, who had apparently bet on her to win.
In a conference after the game, Watson said 'They're not brave enough to say it in person. That's why they hide behind a computer."'
The people sitting behind those screens have probably never picked up a tennis racket in their life, and have certainly not come within two points of beating the female world no. 1 tennis player.
But whilst it's sad that Watson is having to deal with this after her defeat, she's been pretty diplomatic about the whole thing, saying 'I don't know why they bet on us because our results are all over the place.'
It's been reported that a special police unit is working alongside Wimbledon officials in order to monitor any obsessive fans and a spokesman said 'The Unit works closely with players who are subject to abuse, or threats, related to betting on social media. That can include contacting the social media organisation on behalf of the player to report the abuse and get it removed, through to reporting incidents, where appropriate, to law enforcement agencies.'
It is clear that this behaviour is unacceptable, and those responsible should be held accountable, as they would if the threats were being hurled in person.
Last year, Watson famously received death threats, aimed at herself and towards her family.
At 24, Watson has already achieved the rank of no. 2 in Britain and is a really talented young player, and part of a progressive collective in that is widening the representation of women in sport.
There were several young British women at Wimbledon this year. Watson was joined at Wimbledon by Johanna Konta (25), Laura Robson (22), Naomi Brady (26) and two wildcard players, Tara Moore (23) and Katie Swan (17). Tara Moore is the only player now left in the tournament.
Johanna Konta has also been targeted before, and urged everyone to not take the insults personally, firstly suggesting 'contacting the right people about it,' and then saying 'if you do read it, make sure you read it when you're in good spirits and you can laugh about it because otherwise, yeah, it can ruin your day.'
It's a shame that social media allows a voice to fans that wish to behave hatefully, but laughing at them definitely seems like a sensible remedy- for now.
