‘Hope You Find Compassion’- 20YO WTA Pro Stands Tall in Late Mother’s Defense With a Harsh Slap at Critics at the Italian Open

From the stands of the stadiums to social media, just like almost every other athlete, even tennis players have been subjected to several abuses time and again. Previously, we’ve seen several WTA players sharing their horrifying experiences of getting brutally targeted by the critics. For example, speaking on this topic in 2024, Caroline Garcia said, “Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive these messages, we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging.” American tennis star Jessica Pegula spoke about how constant “death threats” and “family threats” have become “normal now“.  Adding more names to that list, recently, the 20-year-old  Czech tennis star Linda Noskova shared her heartbreaking experience after facing an exit from the 2025 Italian Open.

The 18-year-old Russian tennis star, Mirra Andreeva, recently defeated Linda Noskova in the R32 of the Italian Open by 6-1,7-5. Noskova was struggling a bit right from the start of this match. Talking about her serves, he hit just 2 aces in this match but committed 6 double faults. If we look at Noskova’s overall record this season, other than reaching the SF in Abu Dhabi and QF in Dubai, she has failed to deliver this season. Her current win-loss record is just 13-12, and now, after seeing her early exit from the Italian Open, several fans slammed her for her poor performance and even targeted her late mother with hateful messages, and that too on Mother’s Day!

Seeing the amount of hate towards her mom, Linda Noskova couldn’t stop herself from coming up with a bold jibe at those critics. She shared a post on her IG stories which read, “To everyone who mentioned my mom after my loss, especially on this Mother’s Day: I truly hope you find compassion in your heart one day.” Interestingly, even her opponent in this match, Mirra Andreeva, had also previously opened up about the amount of hatred she has received right from a very young age. 

Linda Noskova posted this on IG after her loss to Mirra Andreeva

“To everyone who mentioned my mom after my loss, especially on this Mother’s Day: I truly hope you find compassion in your heart one day.”

What a sad world we live in… some people don’t have a heart. pic.twitter.com/hNpLwwAsII

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 11, 2025

Speaking to The National News, Andreeva once revealed, “I remember once when I was young when I was 14 years old, I was playing one of my first ITF tournaments, and I received a message after my loss that, ‘Look around, because I’m going to find you, and I’m going to cut your arms.’ That was still the one that I remember until today.” But was it the first time that Noskova had been spotted complaining about these hate messages?

Well, in September 2023, Linda Noskova exposed the vile abuse she received from a social media user following her second-round defeat at the Pan Pacific Open. It also included death threats, vulgar insults, and derogatory language. Highlighting all of those, Noskova captioned the screenshot of the messages saying, “Dude“, followed by a laughing and clapping emoji. Not only that but even during the Abu Dhabi Open this year, she shared a series of online abuse she received after losing her SF match. She shared the post in her IG story with the caption, “Should I make this a tradition?” 

But that didn’t stop there! Even at Indian Wells, she faced similar threats on social media. The WTA and the ATP have joined hands to battle all these issues and have also brought in some policies on online harassment in the last few years. But still, cyberbullying seems to be far from over, as it keeps on harassing the tennis stars. And targeting Noskova’s late mom was perhaps the most heinous act the critics could make.

After enduring a battle with cancer for quite some time, Linda Noskova’s mother passed away in June 2024

Born on 17 November 2004 in the village of Bystricka in the Vsetin region to Drahos Nosk and Ivana Noskova, Linda Noskova is now one of the most popular players in the Czech Republic. Her father introduced her to the sport at the age of 6, and at 7, she started training in Valaske Mezirici. Noskova turned pro in 2019 and ever since then, has performance graph has witnessed a steady rise over the years.

But in 2024, while she was preparing for her second Wimbledon Championships, Linda Noskova got the news of the passing away of her mother. Ivana Noskova was one of her biggest supporters, and previously she also used to travel with her on the Tours. However, last year during the AO, when she was asked if she’d accompany her to Melbourne, Ivana had said, “Certainly not (about traveling to Melbourne for the Australian Open), even if she played the final. I am sick, the long journey itself is exhausting. We watch everything at home, keep our fingers crossed, and stay connected. Over the years, we have traveled a lot together.”

Interesting Fact: Linda Noskova reached the QF of the 2024 AO (her best record at a major tournament)

However, in that same interview with Denik.cz, Ivana Noskova claimed, “I’m really looking forward to Wimbledon! It didn’t work out once, last year she was officially there for the first time, but I couldn’t for health reasons. I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere, the specific game on grass. Just like traditional strawberries with whipped cream.” But unfortunately, she couldn’t make it there as well! Linda Noskova was defeated by Bianca Andreescu in the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets. This 20-year-old Czech has won only one title so far in her singles career, but has a knack for upsetting several top players of the Tour. Do you think she can give a strong reply to her critics with an incredible comeback in her next tournament?

The post ‘Hope You Find Compassion’- 20YO WTA Pro Stands Tall in Late Mother’s Defense With a Harsh Slap at Critics at the Italian Open appeared first on EssentiallySports.