A little while after being eliminated in the second round of the WTA in Bogotá by the Russian Anastasia Tikhonova (1-6, 6-4 and 3-6), the tennis player Marina Bassols went on her social networks. While still digesting the defeat, the blanenca, 26 years old, read a handful of messages with death threats. "Get yourself good life insurance and a lawyer because I'll kill you when you get home", "I've paid a cartel to kill you", "I will assassinate you, I know where you live" or "You are officially dead".The situation that Bassols, who is ranked 203 in the WTA rankings, experienced is not an isolated case. Elite athletes have had to get used to living with fierce criticism, derogatory messages and death threats. Some of the messages come from fans unhappy with their performance, but others from people who have lost money on a sports bet.