Italian tennis player Lucrezia Stefanini recently opened up about a harrowing situation her family had experienced at one of the major events held this year. Stefanini was reportedly competing in the ongoing 2026 Indian Wells Open event. She had already played the first round of the qualifiers match at the WTA 1000 tournament which she lost to Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva by sets of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
But ahead of the event, she received a random text message on her WhatsApp that had a picture of a gun. The threat came ahead of her next qualifying match in California. As per the messages sent to her, it was done as an attempt to stop her from winning the next match that she played.
The whole incident was revealed by Stefanini in a video posted by her on her Instagram account. She said that this concern has been sent to the World Tennis Association (WTA) to look into the matter as a concern for the athletes’ safety.
She said, “I received a WhatsApp message in which I was threatened over winning yesterday’s match. They threatened my family and me and named my parents, the place where I was born, and they sent me a photo of a gun.”
“I’m making this video and explaining what happened because I don’t think it’s right to put me under this pressure and unease before a match. I immediately alerted the WTA, which provided me with more security. The entire tournament mobilised to make me feel safe. Despite it all, I fought until the end to try and win my match, because I can’t permit these people to intimidate me,” she added.
Before Stefanini, Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, had previously faced a threat on his social media. These incidents highlight the concerns regarding players’ safety and integrity outside the professional world.
Speaking on Stefanini’s incident, Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president Angelo Binaghi referred to the incident as disturbing.
Binaghi said, “Sending images of weapons, knowledge of personal information and intimidation toward an athlete marks an increase of disturbing quality that doesn’t have anything to do with sports. Whoever thinks they can condition a match through fear… should know that they have entered criminal territory. This kind of behavior deserves an immediate legal response.”
