Chinese ZHUHAI Daria Kasatkina, the first player to reach the WTA Elite Trophy semifinals on Thursday, noted the social media criticism she has received.
The sixth-seeded Kasatkina defeated 11th-seeded Linette 6-3, 6-4. She stated on X that she won her fight but is abused "is completely out of control."
She included an image showing some of the abusive messages she had received.
In the second-tier postseason Azalea group, Kasatkina defeated top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova in her first round-robin match. Both Krejcikova and Linette are gone.
Third-seeded The 10th-seeded Croatian was ousted when Jelena Ostapenko defeated Donna Vekic 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in her Orchid group opener.
Ostapenko will play Zheng Qinwen, who defeated Vekic in her first set, to determine group champion.
Fourth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova faced Chinese wild card Zhu Lin in her tournament debut later Thursday.
The 12-player tournament is the first women's circuit postseason event. It includes the 11 top-ranked singles players that missed the WTA Finals in Cancun next month. Zhu, 37th, is the final wildcard.
The winners of four three-person groups advance to Saturday's semifinals. Sunday is the finale.