Tearful Emma Raducanu hides behind umpire after being confronted by 'fixated man' who is then dragged away

19 February 2025, 10:22

A tearful Emma Raducanu was seen hiding behind the umpire after being confronted by a 'fixated man' during the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Raducanu appeared emotional as she went to the umpire's chair during her match against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday.

She was seen dabbing her eyes with her towel and later comforted by her opponent after the man was identified in the audience.

The former US Open champion quickly recomposed herself after a brief break and returned to the court.

Meanwhile, the umpire was pictured using a walkie-talkie to talk to fellow tournament officials.

A Women's Tennis Association statement on the incident read: "On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour.

"This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma's match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.

"Player safety is our top priority, and tournaments are advised on security best practices for international sporting events.

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"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."

Raducanu fought back from a bad start to take the first set to a tie-break, but ultimately went down 7-6 (6) 6-4 to miss out on a last-16 clash with American McCartney Kessler, who had earlier dumped world number three Coco Gauff out of the tournament.

However, she broke back in the fifth courtesy of a stunning backhand return down the line before holding serve for the first time, and she was right back in it when she broke for a second time in the ninth game to trail only 5-4.

The Briton saved two set points to take it to a tie-break but it was her 28-year-old Czech opponent who eventually prevailed 8-6.

Raducanu's disappointment was compounded when she was broken again in the first game of the second set and after failing to convert any of the three break points she earned in the sixth game, it was Muchova who edged across the line 6-4.

Raducanu had ended her four-match losing run - the worst of her career - in style in the first round, the wild card beating Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-2.

The former British number one had previously failed to capitalise on wild card entries into tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha over the last two weeks, losing in the first round both times to Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Those losses followed another first-round defeat to Cristina Bucsa in Singapore and a hammering by Iga Swiatek after she had reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.

In February 2022, stalker Amrit Magar, who walked 23 miles to Raducanu's home and took her father's shoe as a souvenir, was handed a five-year restraining order.