Emma Raducanu broke down in tears on the court. The presence of a stalker with “obsessive behavior” who had followed her around Dubai caused the British player great distress. The match was stopped for several minutes.
During the third game of the second round at the WTA 1000 in Dubai between the Brit and Czech Karolina Muchova, Raducanu spotted her stalker sitting in the front row behind one of the baselines. The same individual had harassed her in a public area after her first-round victory over Maria Sakkari. “He will be banned from all events,” the WTA said.
The distress took over the 22-year-old tennis player, who burst into tears while seeking refuge behind the umpire’s chair. Muchova approached to understand what was happening, and as soon as she learned about the situation, she comforted Raducanu.
Security intervened, removed the man from the scene, and the match continued. Raducanu emotionally regained her composure, was competitive, and ultimately lost in a tight score: 7-6(6) and 6-4 in favor of the 2023 French Open finalist.
The WTA quickly issued a statement explaining the situation and reaffirming its commitment to ensuring the safety of competitors: “On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man displaying fixated behavior. This same individual was identified in the front rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and was promptly removed from the venue. He has been banned from all WTA tournaments pending a threat assessment.”
here is the situation 🙁 https://t.co/z4Vl23j9DL pic.twitter.com/2C4K2oAEgC
— Lisa 🧚🏻♀️ (@lisa_talking) February 18, 2025
This Wednesday, Raducanu thanked the support from both fans and her opponent, following the “difficult experience” she endured in the United Arab Emirates.
“Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match”, the former World N.10 posted on Instagram stories.
Repeated Suffering
In 2022, the 2021 US Open champion was already the victim of a harassment incident that caused her a disturbing sense of insecurity. The culprit was a 35-year-old man who visited her home up to ten times after her rise to the world circuit’s forefront.
Amrit Magar, an Amazon delivery driver, tampered with Raducanu’s belongings, took some of them, and left a bouquet of flowers at her doorstep, among other things. Raducanu reported the distress caused by the stalker to the police: “I have felt very scared. I feel a lot of apprehension when I go out, especially if I am alone; I feel like my freedom has been taken away. I constantly look around, and I am nervous and worried that this will happen again.”
