Tennis Star Panna Udvardy Says She Received Text Threatening to Harm Her Parents If She Won Her Match
Tennis Star Panna Udvardy Says She Received Text Threatening to Harm Her Parents If She Won Her Match
Natasha DyeWed, March 11, 2026 at 5:04 PM UTC
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Panna Udvardy on Aug. 28, 2023 in New York CityCredit: Robert Prange/Getty -
Tennis player Panna Udvardy said she received "very disturbing messages" threatening her family members if she didn't lose her match
Udvardy said the sender messaged her via WhatsApp with photos of her family members and another of a gun
After she contacted the WTA supervisor, police dispatched officers to her match and to her family's homes
Hungarian tennis player Panna Udvardy revealed "several very disturbing messages" she received ahead of her match at the Megasaray Hotels Open that included threats to her family.
Udvardy, 27, shared a lengthy caption alongside screenshots of the messages in a post on Instagram on Friday, March 6. She said she received the messages via WhatsApp around midnight "from an unknown number on my personal phone."
Udvardy said the sender "told me that if I didn't lose my match today, they would harm members of my family." She said the anonymous sender told her "they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers."
"They even sent photos of my family members and a picture of a gun," Udvardy wrote in her post, which included the photo of the gun from the WhatsApp message. "It was honestly very scary to receive something like this."
Panna Udvardy on May 21, 2025 in Paris, FranceCredit: Robert Prange/Getty
Udvardy said she "immediately contacted the WTA supervisor, sent the screenshots, and informed my parents" after receiving the messages.
"My parents then contacted the consulate, and when I woke up this morning I also spoke again with the WTA supervisor," she continued. "I was told that similar threats have recently happened to other players and that they believe personal information may have leaked from the WTA database, which is currently being investigated."
Three police officers were sent to Udvardy's match after she contacted the consulate, Udvardy said, and additional police "also went to my parents and grandmother's homes," she said, adding, "and after the match I filed an official police report here in Turkey."
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Udvardy thanked "everyone who reached out today with messages and support," adding, "It really means a lot."
She also thanked the consulate "for reacting so quickly and for taking care both me and my family," before adding, "But I want to say something clearly: this is not normal."
Udvardy stressed that "even as athletes or public figures, it's not acceptable to receive threats against our families, especially not on our private phone numbers and alongside disturbing images."
"We should not normalize abuse like this in sport," Udvardy wrote, before urging the WTA to "continue investigating this situation seriously" and to "take stronger steps to protect players personal data and safety and to inform players immediately if there is a breach in their system."
Udvardy concluded her caption with, "No player should have to deal with something like this."
She went on to lose her match that evening 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina. Udvardy said the messages were leaving her distracted during the competition.
"Leaving Antalya feeling sad and disappointed. I never imagined something like this could happen, and the last few days have been stressful to say the least, making it very difficult to focus on what I came here to do which is to play tennis," Udvardy wrote on Instagram."No player should ever have to go through something like this. I truly hope that steps will be taken so that situations like this don’t happen again, and that moving forward things will be safer and better for everyone in our sport."
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
