"A reminder that anyone can become a gambling addict" - Tennis world and fans applaud journalist for firsthand insight into tennis betting and its unspoken consequences

Journalist Hannah Jane Parkinson, writing for the Guardian, recently gave a very insightful firsthand account into the world of tennis betting and the consequences it has on gambling addicts, one that has received unanimous praise from the tennis world and fans all over.

Speaking at length about her own involvement with betting in the sport and how it led to her eventually losing £40,000, Parkinson described how her mental health issues and clever algorithms used by betting sites contributed to her eventual undoing.

"First, even before the pandemic, I had been depressed for a seemingly endless, anhedonic time. The depression meant that I had retreated from personal interaction and spent the majority of my days alone, usually in bed. Finding it difficult to do the things I usually would," Parkinson wrote.

"It turns out tech companies do not like it when one takes an extended break, because when I started to feel a little progress with my mental health and returned, the algorithm had buried me, which was the second trigger. I was no longer getting the hits of dopamine I was used to from engagement," she added.

Hannah Jane Parkinson then went on to talk about how betting companies used other nefarious means to outwit their clients, while also discussing gambling in other sports and the problem of match-fixing in tennis. She further spoke about the connection between gambling tendencies and mental disorders such as ADHD, as well as specifically pointing out the ever-increasing gambling issue in the United Kingdom.

Journalist Ben Rothenberg was among those who praised Parkinson for her bravery, calling it a must-read article.

"I’ve written about the wreckage-strewn intersection of tennis and gambling many times, but there’s a whole different power to this first-person account. If you read one piece this month, make it this one," Rothenberg tweeted.

Journalists David Law, Tumaini Carayol and Amy Lundy Dahl also joined Rothenberg in congratulating Parkinson, hailing her for her straightforward portrayal of a very traumatic experience.

Tennis fans also flocked to offer their support to Hannah Jane Parkinson, calling her admission a powerful piece of writing that could help many others.

"As someone who despises the gambling industry and thinks we should discuss it and addiction significantly more, kudos for writing this. Extremely brave. I hope you can get out the other side."

One user opined that the intrusion of betting into tennis should be fought tooth and nail, blaming the gambling industry for leading to the rise of abuse directed against players as well.

"We, as fans, ought to fight tooth and nail against the betting intrusion into tennis (but also sport generally). An industry who are enablers of financial crime, the destroyers of lives and livelihoods, and the cause of so much hostility faced by players."

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

"If bookmakers were to conceive the perfect sport, it would be tennis" - Hannah Jane Parkinson

BNP Paribas Open

Hannah Jane Parkinson noted during her article that tennis was the "perfect" sport for bookmakers, seeing as the off-season was barely a month long and that the season never lets off throughout the year.

"If bookmakers were to conceive the perfect sport, it would be tennis. At almost any given moment, there is a tennis match happening. Most players take a single month off at Christmas, and that’s it. Come January, it’s the beginning of the hard-court season, and things never let up from there," Parkinson wrote.

Parkinson further opined that it was made worse by the speed with which the game was played, as you could bet on all sorts of outcomes -- from who will win the first service game down to who will win the next point. In her opinion, one stood to lose money almost as quickly as they stood to earn it by betting on the sport.

"There are never-ending markets. You can bet outright on who will win matches, or whole tournaments. But you can also bet on whether Player A will win their first service game. You can bet on what the score of that first service game will be. You can even bet, during the game, on who will win the next point. Have I bet on who will win the next point? Of course I have. You will never win £500 quicker; you will never lose £500 quicker," Parkinson wrote.