Emma Raducanu says she will be OK after a “difficult experience” where she was targeted by a man who “exhibited fixated behaviour” at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
An emotional Raducanu was seen hiding behind the umpire’s chair two games into the second-round defeat by Karolina Muchova.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said the 22-year-old had been approached by a man who “exhibited fixated behaviour” on Monday and the same individual was “identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match” on Tuesday.
Raducanu alerted the chair umpire to the situation and was comforted by 14th seed Muchova as the individual was removed from court three.
On Wednesday, the Briton posted on Instagram: “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.
“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”
Raducanu returned to the court after the incident to applause from the crowd and continued playing, but fell to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat.
The man was “subsequently ejected” from the stadium and has since been banned from all WTA events, “pending a threat assessment”.
In 2022, a man who walked 23 miles to the London home of Raducanu was given a five-year restraining order.
The WTA said: “Player safety is our top priority, and tournaments are advised on security best practices for international sporting events.
“The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support.
“We remain committed to collaborating with tournaments and their security teams worldwide to maintain a safe environment for all players.”
The Dubai Tennis Championships said it “fully supported” the WTA’s statement, and subsequent action taken by the governing body of the women’s game.
“The tournament security team worked in collaboration with the WTA security team to proactively identify and immediately eject the individual in question from the stadium,” said tournament organisers.
“We support the WTA’s decision to ban the individual in question from all WTA events, and share the tour’s longstanding commitment to player welfare, safety and wellbeing.
“We thank Emma for her contribution to this year’s tournament and look forward to welcoming her back next year.”
British governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), said it had been in contact with Raducanu and her team in Dubai.
“This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face,” said the LTA.
“The tours have strong processes in place already and we will continue to work together along with police and security providers to deal with situations like this robustly.”
