British tennis star Emma Radcanu said she felt distraught after seeing a man who had been stalking her at a tournament in Dubai.
The former US Open champion spoke publicly about the incident for the first time on Tuesday at Indian Wells. During her second round match against Karolina Muchova in Dubai, Raducanu was visibly upset during the opening set after seeing the man watching her who has been following her at various tournaments. The individual, who has not been publicly named, approached her twice away from the court prior to that match. He was also present at her matches in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha earlier this year.
“I was obviously very distraught,” Reuters quoted Raducanu as saying.
“I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish’.
“I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather’.”
Raducanu dropped charges against the man who was detained by police in Dubai. However, he has now been banned from attending all WTA events after showing what was described by the Tour as ‘fixated’ behavior towards the former top 20 player.
Following her ordeal, the 22-year-old took a brief break. She has since been provided with extra security at events where she is playing.
“It was a very emotional time,” she said.
“After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost. There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here.
“I feel a lot better.”
On the court, Raducanu will be hoping to regain some momentum in her game at Indian Wells where she will play Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round. Since reaching the third round of the Australian Open, she has only won one out of five matches played and is currently ranked 55th in the world.
