'I hope you get Covid and die': Thomas Fancutt reveals dark $1.8 million truth behind threats linked to betting

(Getty/John Lamb)

Aussie tennis player Thomas Fancutt has openly shared his past experiences of receiving constant threats and abuse because of gambling.

It is an ongoing crisis that is yet to be fully dealt with by tennis' major governing bodies, as the situation continues to spiral out of control.

"I probably get five messages after a match if I lost," Fancutt told Good Humans Pod.

Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

The 30-year-old from Brisbane has received death threats and cruel messages such as, "I'm going to come find you and kill you", and "I hope you get Covid and die" in broken English and Russian.

"Every match I played was bet on. One of my matches I played in China, you could see how much money was wagered on the match," said Fancutt.

"I was playing a Challenger match, and there was just on this one app, there was $1.8 million of money totally bet on one match, and that's one of like nine big betting apps.

"It's almost like a rite of passage getting your first message that you suck. They make an account, and they write something to you, and then I'll block and delete it. For 10 years, I've gotten them.

"I remember when I was 20, my first trip overseas to Europe, I lost first round, and I walked in the door of the club, and this guy's like, 'Thomas Fancutt, how did you lose your match last week? I bet so much money on you to win. What are you doing?' I'm looking at my mate like, 'Is this happening right now?' Straight to my face."

Tune in to The First Serve Live each Monday Night on the SEN Radio Network & SEN App.

SEN Network: SEN 1116am Melbourne, SEN 1170am Sydney, SENQ 693am Brisbane, SEN Gold Coast 1620am, SEN SA 1629am, SEN Tassie 1629am, SEN Top End 1611am, SEN Mt Gambier 1629am, SEN Goulbourn Valley 1260am, SEN Geelong, SEN Bendigo, SEN Ballarat, SEN Gippsland, SEN Sunraysia, SEN WA on the app in Perth, SEN Spirit 621am in Bunbury, SEN Spirit 621am in Bunbury, SEN Spirit 1494am in WA's South West, SEN Peel in Mandurah, and SEN Goldfields 1611am in Kalgoorlie and across WA in the Pilbara, Mid-West and Great Southern Regions, SEN Fanatic on the SEN App, SEN App worldwide