Nasty stalking incident

“Couldn’t see the ball for the tears”

(Bild: AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Tennis star Emma Raducanu has spoken for the first time about the stalking incident at the tournament in Dubai in mid-February. She "literally couldn't see the ball because of the tears and I could hardly breathe", said the Brit in the run-up to the Indian Wells tournament.

Since the incident, she has been more vigilant and has increased security measures. In Dubai, a man had made the 2021 US Open winner cry during her match against Czech Karolína Muchová.

One day before the match, he approached Raducanu near the players' hotel, handed her a letter and took a photo with the 22-year-old. She had reported this to her own team, but they only passed the information on to the WTA and the tournament organization the next day. Additional security precautions could not be taken in the short time available. The man had previously followed her to the tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Raducanu hides behind the umpire's chair
 Raducanu hid behind the umpire's chair during the match. The man was banned from the stands. The referees and Muchová took care of Raducanu, who continued to play and lost the match. The police in Dubai later arrested the man. He had signed a formal undertaking to distance himself from Raducanu. He was banned from future tournaments. The athlete dropped the charges against him.

In 2022, a man was sentenced to community service without pay for stalking Raducanu and was also banned from contact for five years. There was no further information about the identity of the man who was barred in Dubai.