Argentine tennis player Román Burruchaga, son of Jorge Burruchaga, reported receiving death threats via WhatsApp before his semifinal at the Rosario Challenger. The messages included extortion and personal details about his family, but the player competed and advanced to the final. This incident follows a similar one reported days earlier in the same tournament.
Román Burruchaga, the 24-year-old tennis player and son of 1986 World Cup hero Jorge Burruchaga, faced a disturbing incident during the Rosario Challenger. On Saturday afternoon, as he headed to the Jockey Club de Rosario for his semifinal against Taiwan's Chun Hsin Tseng, he received WhatsApp messages with direct threats.
According to the complaint filed at a Santa Fe police station, the texts demanded he lose the match: “Today you have to lose against the Chinese guy, we're in Rosario and we have photos of where you are right now all over our territory.” The intimidation escalated with references to his family: “Remember that your dad, loaded with money, we're going to send him the green one in Buenos Aires if you don't comply, same as your mom. We have you both located, with details of your jobs and cell phones.” A final message warned: “Don't win a single set and everything will stay here. If not, I promise you won't leave Rosario. Don't be stupid and value your life.”
The senders attached a photo of a hand holding a firearm, captioned “Remember, we're buried and ready for war.” After alerting the police, Burruchaga received immediate custody, and patrols were reinforced at the venue. Despite the threats, the Argentine won the match and advanced to Sunday's final at 6:30 p.m. against Camilo Ugo Carabelli, with a $225,000 prize pool at stake.
This is the second case in the tournament: the previous Friday, Spanish player Nikolas Sánchez Izquierdo (ranked 279) reported threats to throw his match against Valerio Aboian. His game was played behind closed doors with police presence, he lost in straight sets, and left the event. The police investigation is ongoing, with the messages forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office for analysis, and protection for the athlete remains in place.
