Britain s Boulter says she has received death threats

British number two Katie Boulter has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches as players are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.

Gamblers are responsible for 40% of detected abuse, according to a survey undertaken by the Womens Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) published on Tuesday.

Boulter, 28, shared her experiences in an interview with the BBC. The world number 39 received messages that read: Hope you get cancer, Candles and a coffin for your entire family, and Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me.

I just wonder who the person is that has sent that, Boulter said looking at the hope you get cancer message.

I dont think its something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. Its just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. Its horrible.

The WTA and ITF study, which monitored 1.6 million posts and comments last year using Threat Matrix AI, are calling for the gambling industry to tackle those people responsible for the abuse more effectively.

I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are, Boulter said. You really dont know if this person is on site. You really dont know if theyre nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.

The WTA said 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threat last year and that action had been taken against the most serious and prolific cases, including 15 accounts escalated to law enforcement.

Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure, American world number three Jessica Pegula, a member of the WTA Players Council said in a statement.

I welcome the work that the WTA and ITF are doing with Threat Matrix to identify