Emma Raducanu. Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Emma Raducanu stalker incident highlights dark side of tennis

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Feb 19, 2025 8:15 AM ET

Former U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu was targeted by an obsessed fan exhibiting "fixated behavior" during her second-round loss to Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Open, per the WTA.

The 22-year-old Briton was spotted hiding behind the umpire's chair early in the first set, informing the official of the fan, who was duly ejected from the arena. According to the WTA, the same person approached Raducanu at a public place on Monday and was also identified in the first few rows during her match on Tuesday.

When Raducanu saw the man return to the arena, she was understandably anxious, taking up the issue with the chair umpire. The WTA confirmed that the man has "been banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment."

The WTA added that it's "actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support."

WTA statement on the security incident in Dubai:

On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behavior. This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis…
— wta (@WTA) February 19, 2025

After the fan was ejected, Raducanu returned to applause from the Dubai crowd and was comforted by her opponent, Muchova. She would lose four consecutive games after the incident, but claw back to send the first set into a tiebreaker, ultimately losing the match 7-6, 6-4.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first instance of Raducanu dealing with stalker behavior. In 2022, a man was hit with a five-year restraining order after he routinely stalked Raducanu's London home.

Other past and current female tennis stars such Katie Boulter, Maria Sharapova, Danielle Collins, Monica Seles and Serena Williams have also dealt with similar incidents. In 2011, Williams was forced to get a restraining order against a 40-year-old man who tried to break into her Florida home on three separate occasions. Sharapova got five bodyguards to protect her from a crazed Los Angeles fan who lunged at her during a 2005 tournament.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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