Organisers of the Dubai Open have shared a statement following Emma Raducanu’s ‘stalker’ ordeal which saw the former British No1 in visible distress as a man displaying ‘fixated behaviour’ was escorted away from her second-round match.
Raducanu was just two games down to Karolina Muchova on Tuesday evening when play was brought to a halt with the former US Open champion in tears, before quickly discussing the issue with umpire Miriam Bley who was seen communicating with tournament organisers off court via her walkie-talkie.
The 21-year-old then hid behind the umpire’s chair and had to be comforted by Bley and her opponent Muchova, before play could resume.
The WTA confirmed that a man had previously approached Raducanu at her first-round match against Maria Sakkari, adding in a statement that the governing body were working with the player to ensure her safety.
The man has been banned from WTA events.
But organisers were keen to also share their support of the player, whose eventual straight-sets defeat to former top-10 star Muchova may have been prompted by the distressing incident.
Emma Raducanu was brought to tears in distressing scenes at the Dubai Open on Tuesday
The player quickly spoke to the umpire before ducking behind her chair, where she was comforted by her opponent Karolina Muchova
‘We fully support the statement made earlier today by the WTA in regard to an incident involving Emma Raducanu on February 17,’ their statement read.
‘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 during Emma’s second-round match on Tuesday.
‘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.’
Raducanu has previously been targeted by unwanted and troubling attention from obsessive fans, seeing a five-year ban handed out to a stalker who walked 23 miles to her family home in late 2021.
Amrit Magar, 35, was convicted in early 2022 after being found guilty of sending love notes, visiting Raducanu’s home on three separate occasions, and stealing a shoe which he believed belonged to the then-19-year-old player.
Raducanu later admitted in a statement shared with the court that the experience had left her ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and feeling as if her ‘freedom had been taken away’.
The player had previously been looking to build on snapping her losing streak after a confident defeat of Sakkari in the first round.
Raducanu had previously lost three matches in a row, failing to make it past of the first round at both the Abu Dhabi Open and the Qatar Open on the heels of her Australian Open exit last month.
