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WTA Player Panna Udvardy Targeted by WhatsApp Extortion Before Antalya Match as Probes Eye Suspected Data Leak

Investigations focus on a suspected leak of player data enabling direct threats to athletes.

Overview

  • Udvardy received WhatsApp messages from an unknown number shortly after midnight before her Friday quarterfinal, demanding she intentionally lose or her family would be harmed.
  • The sender referenced specific personal details such as family addresses, cars and phone numbers, and sent photos of relatives along with an image of a pistol.
  • Udvardy alerted the WTA while her family contacted the Hungarian consulate, which arranged police protection at the match as Turkish officers also checked on her parents and grandmother.
  • The match concluded without physical incidents, and Udvardy filed an official police report in Turkey after losing 6-7, 5-7 to Anhelina Kalinina.
  • Udvardy was told similar threats have recently targeted other players and that personal data may have been taken from a WTA database, with investigations by the tour and Turkish authorities ongoing.