Insults and death threats via cell phone for Benoit Paire after his unexpected defeat in Estoril: “Is this normal for you?”

Benoit PaireOne of the most controversial players on the professional tennis circuit, shared on his social networks the threats and insults he received after he fell in the first round of Estoril ATPwhere he said goodbye between boos after losing to South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.

“Is this normal for you?”, wrote the Frenchman, number 60 in the world, on Twitter, after publishing a series of screenshots with the messages they sent him. To many, they demanded to kill him.

“Kill yourself”, “We’ll kill you”, “You’re digging your grave”, “Please die”, “You’re the biggest French piece of shit I know” and even “Die, die, die” are some of the They can be read in Spanish, French, English and other languages ​​in the pictures shared by French.

The Spanish Pablo Andujar He answered Paire’s question with a reflection that reflects the reality experienced by tennis players, who often experience pressure and abuse in the networks, especially after a defeat.

“We’re all able to show messages that come in every time we lose a game. We’re the players who have to digest insults every week, it’s really tiring. We’re with you, Ben,” the Iberian said.

Paire is not the first tennis player to experience a similar situation. In September last year, for example, the American shelby roger lost in round of 16 of the US Open against the British Emma Raducanu18 years old and from qualy (who was later crowned champion), and after that fall, he assured: “I’m going to have nine million death threats and more on the networks.”

Days before, his countrymen Sloane Stephens He denounced that he received more than two thousand racist and violent messages from strangers after losing a game.

Even Diego Schwartzman, the best-ranked Argentine today, has denounced this type of attack in the past and asked the ATP to solve this problem, which players have to live with every day.

Paire is often the target of criticism from the tennis public. The Frenchman is often involved in controversial situations during his fights, where it is common to see him throwing insults into the air, arguing in public and with the judges and even playing reluctantly, and he has no problem with sharing his opinions.

In Estoril, for example, the public whistled at him after beating Kwon. And when he was about to go to the locker room, he turned around, he took off his pants and showed his underwear to the people, who booed him even more.

These types of behaviors are seen by some people with humor, but it brings antipathy to others. The Frenchman is usually deaf to criticism, but this time, certainly touched by the level of hostility of the messages, he decided to share them.