Daria Kasatkina says she ‘didn’t have much choice’ over switching allegiance from Russia to Australia, citing her sexuality as a reason.

The world No.12 tennis star, who is openly gay, has not returned to Russia in two-and-a-half years, a country which has strict laws on LGBTQ+ rights.

Although sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex is legal in Russia, it is illegal for individuals to ‘promote homosexuality’.

Kasatkina was born in Tolyatti and has represented her country since 2011, helping Russia land a title at the team-based Billie Jean King Cup in 2021.

But the 27-year-old, who has publicly criticised Russia’s LGBTQ+ laws in the past, is representing Australia for the first time in her career this week.

Kasatkina is playing under the Australian flag at the Charleston Open in South Carolina and has been left ’emotional’ over her nationality switch.

The former Russian player, who had her application for permanent Australian residency accepted last week, said: ‘It’s my first official day as an Australian player.

‘Honestly, it feels different, I’m not going to lie. It’s emotional for me. I have to get used to it. But I’m really happy to start this new chapter of my life representing Australia on the big stage.’

Kasatkina has previously been targeted by Russian politicians, who called for the tennis player to be listed as a ‘foreign agent’ acting against the country’s interests.

The WTA Tour star, who has won eight singles titles, has also been a vocal critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has called for the war to end.

‘With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice [to switch allegiance],’ Kasatkina added, having stated last year that she was expecting consequences for her comments.

‘For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it.

‘I have to get used to it a little bit, because for a couple of years I didn’t hear anything. But it’s something nice to get used to.’

Kasatkina was last in action at the Miami Open, where she lost to Hailey Baptiste in the opening round.

She next faces Lauren Davis or Jamie Loeb in the second round of the Charleston Open, having received a first-round bye due to her ranking.

Kasatkina is seeded fifth in South Carolina, looking to land her first WTA Tour trophy since her triumph at the Ningbo Open in China in October.

Her best Grand Slam performance to date came at the French Open three years ago, where Kasatkina enjoyed a run to the semi-finals.

Both of her parents were nationally ranked athletes in Russia, with her mother and father enjoying success in athletics and ice hockey respectively.

Emma Raducanu admits she felt ‘dizzy and faint’ during her defeat to Jessica Pegula in the Miami Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

Raducanu went into the clash as an underdog in fine form against Pegula and pushed the American world No.4 all the way in a tense showdown.

The British No.2, who is set to make her return to the world top 50 on Monday, enjoyed a mid-match surge but Pegula eventually won 6-4 6-7 6-2.

Raducanu, currently ranked world No.60, leaves Miami with her head held high after a series of impressive wins, most notably over world No.10 Emma Navarro.

In her post-match press conference after her defeat to Pegula, Raducanu provided an update on her health after she was left feeling unwell and seen by a doctor on the court towards the end of the second set.

The 22-year-old former US Open champion struggled to cope with the humid conditions in Miami, with temperatures rising to around 27C.

‘I just felt really dizzy,’ Raducanu said. ‘I felt faint. I don’t know. It was very humid out there and we have a long wait.

‘So maybe just an accumulation [of things], and just physical points as well and there were long rallies and heavy conditions.

‘I don’t know how I kind of regrouped in that second set, but in the third I definitely struggled a little bit.’

Former British No.1 Tim Henman praised Raducanu for her stellar run in Miami after the match, believing there are many positives to take forward.

‘I thought Emma just lost to a better player,’ Henman told Sky Sports. ‘She fought so hard, very tight first two sets. She did so well to get that second set.

‘She looked a little bit fatigued but started being more aggressive to try and keep the points short, looking to take the match to Pegula.

‘Once she got that second set, you thought: ‘There’s a chance.’ But Pegula showed her hard-court experience and just raised her level, so full credit to her for getting through to the semi-finals.

‘But there’s no doubt Raducanu will take so many positives from this run in Miami.

‘When you see Raducanu playing at this level, the tennis has always been there, but the movement in and out of the corners when she’s been on defence, it’s been so impressive.

‘The way she’s strung together these wins is going to give her huge confidence.

‘She’s got to keep doing the work in the gym and on the track, and then when she gets out on the tournament stage, I think these wins will continue.’

Pegula will next lock horns with Alexandra Eala in the Miami Open semi-finals after the 19-year-old wildcard upset world No.2 Iga Swiatek 6-2 7-5.

It was a tournament that began with Emma Raducanu being forced to answer questions about the departure of her latest coach after just one match.

Just a week on and the forecast appears far rosier.

Having won four matches in a row for the first time since winning the US Open back in 2021, Raducanu punched her ticket to Wednesday night’s quarter-finals at the Miami Open

And while the Briton fell short, losing 6-4 6-7 6-2 against World No.4 Jessica Pegula, she ends the tournament back inside the world’s top 50 for the first time since August 2022.

The journey back to this point has not been easy. Raducanu has battled serious injuries and terrifying ordeals off the court but her performances in Miami suggest a corner has been turned – so what’s changed?

Searching for ‘small doses of happiness’

Expectation has weighed heavy on Raducanu ever since her surprise Grand Slam triumph in 2021 and that pressure has stunted the 22-year-olds progress.

In trying to rediscover that winning formula, she has not been afraid to chop and change, already burning through eight coaches in her relatively short career as a pro.

But perhaps it is no coincidence that she is now playing her best tennis while not having a full-time coach and when the focus all week has simply been on keeping things familiar and fun.

‘I feel comfortable. I feel like in my environment, in my surroundings with the people I’m with, I feel pretty relaxed, and I can be myself and expressive and true to myself. That’s important for me,’ Raducanu said before her quarter-final match in Miami.

‘I’m someone who works really hard and can be really intense, but sometimes too intense. I guess in that way it’s harder to be extremely focused when you need to be on the match court because you’re focused from the first minute to the last.’

The mini-trampoline game Spikeball has been the secret weapon of choice to help her relax before matches with her new-look team. ‘They bring small doses of happiness that I guess just keep you going, the small things,’ she explained.

They, in this case, are Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue who have been alongside Raducanu this week.

O’Donoghue, her childhood mentor and former LTA coach, has been a long-time presence on the road with Raducanu, while Petchey represents another familiar face having been involved in her development in her teen years.

Their presence has clearly been beneficial for Raducanu.

‘To have familiar faces, people that I knew, people that have really gone through the trenches with me, but also can kind of lift me up at the same time, that I think made a big difference,’ she explained in the week.

‘Just having them around, people that I really trust, yeah, I think that’s probably when I started feeling a bit better off the court. That translated on the court. I was freer.’

Improvements and good fortune on the court

The sudden turnaround in fortunes for Raducanu can’t solely be attributed to a more relaxed feel to her camp.

In fact, in some cases, it has been the hard work put in away from the spotlight that has paid dividends the most.

Her decision to bring on board renowned fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura in December appears to have had an immediate impact. Previously, Raducanu was the one breaking down in lengthier matches but now she appears more durable than ever.

Her serve appeared to be a major weakness during her poor run of form early in the year but that too has improved markedly, while her brief stint with Vladimir Platenik does seem to have ironed out some more weaknesses.

‘The work that we did before the tournament, it was only maybe two weeks, ten days, but we did some really good work. I think I’m getting some benefits on the court right now from what we did,’ Raducanu admitted when speaking about the Slovakian coach.

Pegula defeat shows the next step

While Raducannu impressed in her win over top-ten opponent Emma Navarro earlier in the tournament, the Brit was shown how much further she still has to go after her gruelling three-set defeat to Pegula.

Raducanu had chances but converted just one of six break-point opportunities before fading in the third set as she struggled with the intense Miami heat.

Pegula has built a reputation as one of the most consistent performers in the women’s game, and the challenge for Raducanu is to do similar and back up this encouraging week with consistent performances over the next few months.

Raducanu favours the fast-paced hard courts seen in the US, but she will soon have to adjust to the slower pace of clay courts as she hopefully looks to gear up for the French Open.

The 22-year-old has not been present at the French Open for the last two years and her only appearance at Roland Garros ended in the second round back in 2022.

Wimbledon will also be in her mind later in the summer, too, having reached the fourth round on two occasions in front of home fans.

There is still some way to go to rediscover the ‘fear factor’ that Boris Becker believed Raducanu had lost when speaking to Metro earlier in the year.

But after her rediscovering her competitive spirit and embracing her underdog tag in the Sunshine State, things are starting to look brighter than ever for Britain’s best-known talent.

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It was a tournament that begun with Emma Raducanu being forced to answer questions about the departure of her latest coach after just one match.

Just a week on and how the tables have turned.

Having won four matches in a row for the first time since winning the US Open back in 2021, Raducanu is now into the quarter-finals at the Miami Open where she will face World No.4 Jessica Pegula.

It represents arguably the biggest match of the Briton’s career since that breakthrough moment at Flushing Meadows four and a half years ago, but the journey back to this point has not been easy.

Raducanu has battled serious injuries, a tumble down the rankings, and terrifying ordeals off the court but now appears to finally be thriving – so what’s changed?

Searching for ‘small doses of happiness’

Expectation has weighed heavy on Raducanu ever since her surprise Grand Slam triumph in 2021 and that pressure has stunted the 22-year-olds progress.

In trying to rediscover that winning formula, she has not been afraid to chop and change, already burning through eight coaches in her relatively short career as a pro.

But perhaps it is no coincidence that she is now playing her best tennis while not having a full-time coach and when the focus all week has simply been on keeping things familiar and fun.

‘I feel comfortable. I feel like in my environment, in my surroundings with the people I’m with, I feel pretty relaxed, and I can be myself and expressive and true to myself. That’s important for me,’ Raducanu said after her last-16 win in Miami.

‘I’m someone who works really hard and can be really intense, but sometimes too intense. I guess in that way it’s harder to be extremely focused when you need to be on the match court because you’re focused from the first minute to the last.’

The mini-trampoline game Spikeball has been the secret weapon of choice to help her relax before matches with her new-look team. ‘They bring small doses of happiness that I guess just keep you going, the small things,’ she explained.

They, in this case, are Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue who have been alongside Raducanu this week.

O’Donoghue, her childhood mentor and former LTA coach, has been a long-time presence on the road with Raducanu, while Petchey represents another familiar face having been involved in her development in her teen years.

Their presence has clearly been beneficial for Raducanu.

‘To have familiar faces, people that I knew, people that have really gone through the trenches with me, but also can kind of lift me up at the same time, that I think made a big difference,’ she explained in the week.

‘Just having them around, people that I really trust, yeah, I think that’s probably when I started feeling a bit better off the court. That translated on the court. I was freer.’

Improvements and good fortune on the court

The sudden turnaround in fortunes for Raducanu can’t solely be attributed to a more relaxed feel to her camp.

In fact, in some cases it has been the hard work put in away from the spotlight that has paid dividends the most.

Her decision to bring on board renowned fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura in December appears to have had an immediate impact. Previously, Raducanu was the one breaking down in lengthier matches but now she appears more durable than ever.

Her serve appeared to be a major weakness during her poor run of form early in the year but that too has improved markedly, while her brief stint with Vladimir Platenik does seem to have ironed out some more weaknesses.

‘The work that we did before the tournament, it was only maybe two weeks, ten days, but we did some really good work. I think I’m getting some benefits on the court right now from what we did,’ Raducanu admitted when speaking about the Slovakian coach.

The next step

While Raducannu impressed in her win over top-ten opponent Emma Navarro earlier in the tournament, the Brit now faces a sterner test again Pegula in the last-eight.

And regardless of the result, after Miami, she will move back inside the world’s top 50 for the first time since August 2022.

That rise should provide a welcome boost, but any evidence of any major resurgence will have to be backed up by consistent performances over the next few months, something which has rarely been a feature of her career.

Raducanu favours the fast-paced hard courts seen in the US, but she will soon have to adjust to the slower pace of clay courts as she hopeflly looks to gear up for the French Open.

The 22-year-old has not been present at the French Open for the last two years and her only appearance at Roland Garros ended in the second round back in 2022.

Wimbledon will also be in her mind later in the summer, too, having reached the fourth round on two occasions in front of home fans.

There is still some way to go to rediscover the ‘fear factor’ that Boris Becker believed Raducanu had lost when speaking to Metro earlier in the year.

But after her rediscovering her competitive spirit and embracing her underdog tag in the Sunshine State, things are starting to look brighter than ever for Britain’s best-known talent.

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Nick Kyrgios has claimed that coaches are ‘overrated’ as he came to the defence of Emma Raducanu in the wake of her run to the last 16 of the Miami Open.

After just three wins from her first nine matches of 2025, Raducanu has enjoyed a welcome return to form in Miami where a walkover victory over McCartney Kessler saw her into the last-16.

Prior to that, Raducanu produced just her third career victory against a top-ten opponent when she dumped out World No.10 Emma Navarro in the second round.

The uptick in performances comes after the Brit sacked the seventh coach of her career, Vladimir Platenik, just days prior to the tournament.

Platenik’s departure was perhaps the most ruthless so far from Raducanu, with the Slovak only lasting 14 days and one game in his role before he was sacked.

Raducanu has faced criticism from several quarters for the constant chopping and changing of her set-up as she looks to get back to the kind of tennis that saw her win the US Open in 2021.

But Kyrgios believes that her most recent run of form is evidence that not everyone needs a coach overseeing their devolpment.

‘People awfully quiet that Radacanu is winning now,’ the Australian wrote. ‘Where all the experts at now? Lol coach’s overrated [sic].’

Kyrgios, who was knocked out in the second round at Miami, has not had a coach for almost eight years, with the 29-year-old admitting back in 2023 that he wouldn’t want to put anyone through the trouble of working with him.

‘I wouldn’t want to put them through that,’ he told Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. ‘Some days I just don’t feel like playing. They can’t. I’ve had coaches before and it’s been okay.

‘I just think for me it’s really hard to bring someone on your team, especially now. Everything I’ve created has been like my best friend, a tight-knit group. I just can’t bring someone else into the team now. It’s just too far gone.’

Following her most recent coaching split, Raducanu’s team suggested that she will resume her search for the ‘right coach’ after Miami.

And the Brit may have plenty more offers on her table if she can Amanda Anisimova on Monday, which would mark the first time she has won four matches at one event since her 2021 US Open title.

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Emma Raducanu’s sacked coach Vladimir Platenik insisted he had no hard feelings despite lasting only 14 days and one match in his role with the Brit.

Raducanu appointed the Slovakian coach prior to Indian Wells where she fell to a first-round defeat against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.

The pair then spent a week training in preparation for the Miami Open, but Platenik was nowhere to be seen in Raducanu’s box for her first-round match against wildcard Sayaka Ishii.

And after racing to a comfortable 6-2 6-1 win against her opponent, Raducanu’s team confirmed that the two had gone their separate ways after just 14 days.

A statement read: ‘Emma and Vlado have parted ways. Emma has utmost respect for Vlado and the work they started but it wasn’t quite heading in the right direction.

‘Emma is now focused on doing as well as she can here in Miami after her a solid start today and will continue looking for the right coach.’

Her partnership with Platenik was reported to last until at least the French Open in May, with their sudden split leaving Raducanu already searching for the eighth coach of a career.

Speaking out the day after his split from Raducanu was confirmed, Platenik said the 22-year-old was feeling ‘stressed’ and ‘under pressure’ before ending their relationship.

‘I totally understand Emma, she’s not in an easy position. The world is looking at her after the US Open [which she won in 2021] and everybody is expecting – including herself – what she is going to do next,” Platenik told BBC Sport.

‘So for me it’s absolutely understandable that she’s under a lot of pressure. She told me she was feeling stressed.

‘There are no hard feelings from my side. She finished the relationship in a fair way, maybe too quickly, but this is tennis, this is sport. We need to respect that.’

The 49-year-old, however, said he was proud of what he had achieved in his short space of time with Raducanu having encountered many ‘problems’ in their first few sessions.

‘She was not really able to stay in the rallies, there were a lot of problems to play on the move with the different speed, different spin and different angle,’ the Slovak added.

‘We had a good discussion, the communication was good from her side. I was very happy because I really must say that I never had a player improving that fast – in eight, nine days.

“She was getting a lot of things very fast. And I think it also showed in the first round [victory over Ishii in Miami].’

Raducanu, meanwhile, did not address the split following her first-round win in Miami, but said her build-up to the tournament ‘hadn’t been easy’.

‘I was just so focused on every point and trying to compete,’ she added, speaking to Sky Sports. ‘That was my main objective today, just trying my best every point and bringing some energy, bringing some competitiveness.

‘I think that’s maybe been missing in the past couple of months. I’m really proud of that. It’s just nice to win in two sets and less than two and a half hours.’

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Jack Draper is making a grand job in his attempt to prove he is cut from the same cloth as Andy Murray, winning in style at Indian Wells.

The British No.1 demolished Denmark’s dangerous Holger Rune in straight sets in a blistering final to move into the top ten in the world.

He is now a career-high seventh in the world rankings, just below Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic and is just four places behind Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s double grand-slam winner, who he beat in the semi-finals to show he can beat the very best in tennis.

The 23-year-old from Surrey is above Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur, among others, and – if he can stay fit -is only going to get better.

Victory at Indian Wells was his first in an ATP Masters 1,000 event, which is one standard level down from the four grand slams, and the left-hander must now show he can cope with the pressure by adding another title to his portfolio.

It’s a tough assignment flying across the United States and completing the Sunshine Double by winning the Miami Open but the greatest athletes find a way to succeed.

Draper has overcome some of the doubts over his ability to stay injury free and also appears to have cast aside the nerves which resulted in him throwing up on court in his US Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner and immediately after his Australian Open first-round victory over Marcos Giron.

He looks strong, mentally and physically, and can start mixing it with the best in the business.

It’s a shame the Miami Open is the last tournament before the clay season starts in Europe as that is the least effective part of his game but Draper will be a huge factor at Wimbledon while another deep run can be expected at Flushing Meadows as he chases a first grand-slam crown.

Draper is 14/1 with Betway to win Wimbledon and 25/1 with the same firm to light up the Big Apple by claiming the US Open in September.

More immediately, he is 11/1 with Star Sport make his opposition feel sick at the prospect of facing his 6ft 4in frame as he powers to victory in Miami.

• Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price have each won two of the first six Premier League Darts nights this year and can be stuck in an acca with Stephen Bunting to triumph in their opening encounters on night seven in Cardiff.

• Emma Raducanu is experiencing a rough start to the year, winning just three of nine matches and slipping to 60th in the WTA rankings. She was bounced out in the first round at Indian Wells last week but can gain confidence by beating Sayaka Ishii in straight sets at 7/10 with Ladbrokes and Coral to get her Miami Open campaign off to a flying start.

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Boris Becker has issued a warning to Carlos Alcaraz and other tennis superstars after British ace Jack Draper triumphed at Indian Wells.

Draper claimed the biggest title of his career by storming to a 6-2 6-2 win over Holger Rune in the the Indian Wells final.

Draper, who powered past Alcaraz to reach the final, delivered another impressive display to brush past Rune in just 68 minutes.

The Brit set the tone for the encounter by breaking Rune in the first game of the match and stormed to the first set with a second break of serve.

And the 23-year-old broke again at the start of the second set, surging to victory as his impressive serve proved too much for an error-strewn Rune.

The Brit entered the world’s top ten following his victory over Alcaraz in the semi-final, but his triumph in Sunday’s final will now propel him up to World No.7.

The victory is Draper’s third ATP title but is his first ATP Masters 1000 triumph and underscores his burgeoning potential which was been evident since his impressive run to the US Open semi-final earlier in the year.

‘It’s incredible. I wasn’t expecting this,’ Draper told Sky Sports shortly after his victory.

‘I put in a lot of work over time. I’m just so grateful and happy to be out here to play with my body feeling healthy and feeling great in my mind.

‘All the work I’ve done over the last few years, it feels like it’s all coming together on the big stage. I cannot put that into words.

‘I feel like I deserve it. The amount of adversity, the sacrifices, the time people around me have put into me.

‘It’s an emotional feeling to know how much you’ve gone through to be here now.

‘To say I’m going to seventh in the world. I cannot tell you how much that means to me.’

Tennis legend Becker hailed Draper following his impressive victory and suggested he could rival Alcaraz and other elite players for Grand Slams this year.

‘I like Jack Draper,’ he posted on X. ‘So well spoken , educated, humble and a beast on the tennis court!

‘I want more from him rest of the year… Be aware Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev.’

Tim Henman reacts to Jack Draper victory

Former British tennis star Tim Henman also paid tribute to Draper, saying he made a ‘big statement’ this week.

‘Absolutely brilliant performance,’ Henman said on Sky Sports. ‘It’s been building, not just in this tournament but over the last weeks, months and years.

‘It’s been great to see Jack come out and deliver time and again in the tournament where he didn’t have the easiest draw.

‘He absolutely took Rune apart 6-2 6-2 to win his first Masters title, this is a day he will remember forever.

‘Watching the match unfold, it was very much one-way traffic. The second set was going to be closer, we knew there was going to be a reaction, but Jack handled his emotions, game plan and strategy so well.

‘When he didn’t have any of the physical issues, he was then able to execute his game plan. To beat someone like Rune in straight sets is a big statement.’

Elsewhere in the women’s event, Mirra Andreeva continued her spectacular rise after the 17-year-old won 2-6 6-4 6-3 against world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

The Russian has now won back-to-back titles after her win in Dubai at the end of February and rises to sixth in the world.

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British No.1 tennis star Jack Draper has reached the Indian Wells semi-finals with a superb 6-4 7-5 victory over American star Ben Shelton.

The 23-year-old is now set for a mouth-watering showdown with Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the last four.

Draper has been in fine form out in California – beating Taylor Fritz in the last 16 – and secures a ATP Masters 1000 semi-final spot for the first time.

The Briton came out on top in a narrow first set and produced a fightback in the second set after falling behind 0-3 against big-hitter Shelton.

Draper eventually got the job done in straight sets to eliminate three Americans in a row at the prestigious ATP Tour event in the United States.

‘I didn’t know what to expect today, honestly,’ Draper said after his victory over Shelton.

‘I’d hit with Ben maybe once or twice, but very short practices. I’ve obviously watched a lot of him, he’s an incredible showman [with] weapons … can hit a winner from anywhere.

‘The serve’s obviously huge. He’s a great competitor and he’s been really consistent.

‘I knew coming out here facing him on this court in front of the Americans was going to be really difficult today and it was.

‘Huge respect to him, huge credit to him. He’s going to keep on winning, keep on having an amazing career.’

Draper will move into the top 10 for the first time in his career if he manages to produce a shock win over Alcaraz in his next match.

‘It means so much to me,’ Draper added. ‘It’s why I’m playing, why I put all the hard work in with my team, to play these matches on these courts and especially in a place like this.

‘It’s what I’ve wanted since I was a kid and to be here now is a bit surreal.’

Alcaraz currently leads Draper 3-1 in their head-to-head, with the Spanish superstar knocking the Brit out of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Draper, though, knows he can beat Alcaraz when playing at his very best, having defeated him at Queen’s Club last year.

Rafael Nadal has explained why his rivalry with Roger Federer was ‘more attractive’ than his rivalry with Novak Djokovic during the Big Three era.

The three superstars dominated professional men’s tennis for around two decades, winning a combined total of 66 major singles titles to date.

Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are all considered to be among the very best players of all time and the trio enjoyed fascinating rivalries with each other.

Spanish icon Nadal dominated on clay, Federer excelled on grass and hard courts but Djokovic is viewed by most as being the better all-round player.

Djokovic never seemed to receive the same love and respect as the ‘Fedal’ duo, though, despite surpassing them for the most Grand Slam titles (24).

The Serbian, who is the last remaining active player of the three legends, clinched four more major trophies than Federer and two more than Nadal.

Nadal, who joined Federer in retirement last year, has now opened up about his iconic rivalries with Swiss hero Federer and tennis’ true GOAT Djokovic.

‘With Roger the matches, in my opinion, the reason why the rivalry with Roger was a bit more attractive for the fans than Novak against me…’ Nadal told the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

‘Even if I played more times with Novak, and we played exactly the same amount of important matches, if not more… with Roger the strategy was more clear.

‘I was trying to do one thing. He was trying to do the other thing. In some way, I was trying to kill his backhand all the time.

‘Even if I had the chance to play the shot down the line, I was saying to myself, ‘Okay, when I have to play the shot down the line, it’s only for two reasons’ – the first reason is because I go for the winner.

‘The other reason is because I need to keep him away from that side to create more space.

‘He was trying to avoid that. He was trying to play more aggressive. Every time he was hitting one forehand, I felt like I was in a step back.

‘His forehand for me is… yeah, the best that I played against. It’s a little bit more of a chess match. Everybody knows what’s going to happen.

‘Everyone knows what the strategy is going to be. When he was playing very well, he beat me. When I was playing very well, I beat him.’

Nadal admits that Djokovic is the best player he’s ever seen in terms of ball control.

‘Against Novak it was a little bit about… OK, we can have a strategy, but I need to play very well,’ Nadal added. ‘I need to play very well all the time. We don’t play the same style of course. But it’s not a clear strategy. Against Roger, I will damage him against his backhand. Against Novak, I don’t have that feeling.

‘The feeling is I need to play very well for a long time and know that I have to adjust things. I can’t play too many times against his backhand. Especially high balls because then he takes the ball quicker and puts you in a very difficult position. I started to use the slice more against him.

‘Sometimes it worked for me well. Sometimes against Novak it was good to play to the middle. Don’t give him a lot of angles.

‘With Novak, when you’re able to open him, if you don’t really create a lot of damage, he was able to open you more. In terms of ball control, I think he’s the best I ever played and that I ever saw.’

Nick Kyrgios was left in a flood of tears after retiring hurt with a wrist injury in his Indian Wells opener against Botic van de Zandschulp.

The fiery Australian’s future in the sport looks somewhat uncertain, with Kyrgios managing to play just one match in 2023 and missing the entirety of 2024 due to injury and surgeries on his right wrist and knee.

Kyrgios, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2022, has been attempting a comeback from his nightmare spell with injuries this year but was left incredibly emotional during a medical timeout against Van de Zandschulp.

The 29-year-old was unable to continue and abandoned the first-round match 7-6 3-0 down, taking his record to 0-3 across the start of 2025 as the outspoken star was seen crying by the side of the court in California.

Speaking after his emotional withdrawal, Kyrgios said: ‘It’s all an experiment at this point. I was told I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again.

‘[But] I feel I’m like right there. I feel like I can compete. I’m there, but if I’m not able to finish matches it doesn’t really matter at this point.

‘I’m not too sure right now. I don’t even… I’m not sure how it’s going to pull up tomorrow.’

‘I want to go out there and I want to compete. If I really didn’t want to play, I didn’t have to rehab, I didn’t have to try and get back on the court. I want to play.’

Kyrgios is next scheduled to play at the Miami Open from March 18-30 but his participation is now very much up in the air.

‘The time frame is not ideal, but I was scheduled to play so I will see how my wrist responds,’ Kyrgios added.

‘If not Miami, I will keep looking forward. I can’t keep looking back and being disappointed. Otherwise I don’t know how much enjoyment I will have in that.’

Kyrgios was on a collision course to face Novak Djokovic in the second round at Indian Wells but the Serbian legend will now take on Van de Zandschulp.

With Andy Murray working as his coach, Djokovic is targeting a deep run at Indian Wells to kick-start his 2025 campaign.

‘I’m enjoying the relationship with Andy,’ Djokovic said ahead of his clash with Van de Zandschulp. ‘I still feel like we are going through the process of getting to know each other on the court in a different way than we have known each other for 25 years.

‘So it’s obviously a new role for him. He’s also exploring it and trying to understand how he can excel in it. [At the Australian Open], I think I played maybe the best tennis that I played in quite some time. So I definitely attribute that to the work I had with Andy.’

Emma Raducanu admits a ‘lack of preparation’ was the reason for her Indian Wells exit in her first match since being targeted by a stalker.

Raducanu has refused to blame last month’s ordeal on her first-round defeat to Moyuka Uchijima, insisting it wasn’t on her mind on Thursday.

Japan’s world No.52 Uchijima defeated Raducanu 6-3 6-2, denying the British No.2 a second-round showdown with American star Coco Gauff.

Raducanu opened up about the stalking incident ahead of her clash with Uchijima – but she is keen to move on and leave it in the past – after she ramped up her security team and the man was given a restraining order.

Speaking after her loss at Indian Wells, the 22-year-old former US Open champion said: ‘I didn’t have what happened in Dubai in my head at all today.

‘If anything, [it was] a bit of a lack of preparation on the tennis court, playing someone who played pretty good in these extremely awkward conditions.

‘I think it depends what sort of frame of mind you are in. I think all the players will say, if they are feeling good, it’s great. If they are not, it can be more difficult and challenging.

Raducanu becomes recipient of unwanted record

Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Emma Raducanu (42.3%, 11-15) now holds the lowest win rate among former Grand Slam winners at WTA 1000 events, below Francesca Schiavone (42.4%, 42-57).

‘You have to just overcome whatever hurdles that come your way and just keep going forward.’

World No.55 Raducanu is currently seeking a new long-term coach after her split with Nick Cavaday following the Australian Open in January.

Cavaday stepped down from the role due to personal health reasons and Raducanu has since started a trial period with coach Vladimir Platenik.

The Slovakian was working with Raducanu at Indian Wells and the Briton was quizzed about their partnership after her defeat to Uchijima.

‘It is good that I have someone who is very experienced,’ Raducanu added. ‘We will see how the work goes, how we get on on and off the court and the methods. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes.’

Speaking more generally about her early Indian Wells exit, Raducanu said: ‘It was just a very difficult match for me. I tried to be aggressive, I tried to make the ball, but I guess it didn’t work.

‘I had great support around me. I was feeling pretty good. I think today was just a bit of a curveball, but I guess I am just going to move on.

‘I think I just need to keep trying to put one foot in front of the other and not look back too much.

‘I could improve being more aggressive and having a better quality of shot going forward into the court more. I think I could improve every area of my game, to be honest, after today’s performance.’

Fred Stolle has died at the age of 86, with tributes pouring in across the world for the Australian tennis legend following his remarkable career.

Stolle, nicknamed ‘Fiery’, won two Grand Slam singles titles and clinched 10 major doubles trophies before enjoying success as both a coach and commentator.

He helped Australia land three Davis Cup titles in a row in the 1960s and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.

Stolle topped the world rankings in both singles and doubles, coached 1977 Australian Open champion Vitas Gerulaitis and then became a much-loved and respected commentator, working for the likes of ESPN, Fox Sports Australia and and the Nine Network.

‘When we speak about Australia’s golden era, Stolle’s name is right up there with the best,’ Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said in statement on Thursday.

‘A star member of Australia’s Davis Cup team, Fred made significant contributions to the sport following his decorated career, as a coach and astute commentator.

‘His legacy is one of excellence, dedication, and a profound love for tennis. His impact on the sport will be remembered and cherished by all who had the privilege to witness his contributions.’

Stolle lost his first five major finals before beating Tony Roche to win the French Open in 1965 and then landed the US Open title in 1966.

He was firmly part of a golden generation of Australian players, who dominated the men’s game at the end of the amateur and start of the professional era, alongside the likes of Rod Laver.

‘Fred Stolle was too nice a guy to hold a grudge,’ Laver posted on social media. ‘He won many Grand Slams and was in the finals of many more.

‘It took the best to beat the best. We never tired of reliving the past as we travelled the world looking into the future with an enduring love of the sport. You will be missed, Fiery, RIP.’

Stolle was awarded the ITF Philippe Chatrier Award for his contribution to tennis both during his career and post-retirement in 2020.

He was also made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1988.

British tennis star Emma Raducanu has opened up about the horror of being targeted by a stalker last month, sharing terrifying new details.

Raducanu was approached twice by the fixated man while at the Dubai Tennis Championships, including when she was alone in a public café, where the 22-year-old was handed a personal letter and photographed.

The 2021 US Open champion then spotted the same individual in the crowd during her match against Karolina Muchova, which resulted in Raducanu breaking down in tears and hiding behind the umpire’s chair before he was kicked out.

The stalker has since been handed a restraining order and banned from all future tournaments while Raducanu, now playing at Indian Wells, has been travelling with a larger security team amid concerns over her safety.

‘I was obviously very distraught,’ Raducanu said about the moment she saw the man in the crowd during her match against Muchova. ‘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 here. The first four games kind of ran away from me because I was not on the court, to be honest. I’m not really sure how I regrouped. I think that was a pretty good effort for me to carry on playing in that match, in that scenario.

‘It was a very emotional time. 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 and come here. I feel a lot better.’

Speaking about the two seperate incidents in which she was approached by the stalker before her match with Muchova, Raducanu added: ‘There were two instances and it was the second one that I just got freaked out by because the first one was more like a normal fan approaching you.

‘He watched me in the coffee shop for a while. The second incident was really worrying.’

Raducanu flew home to the United Kingdom after the stalking ordeal in Dubai before making a late decision to return at the Indian Wells tournament in California, where she has ramped up her security team, who have been making sure she is fully safe both on-site and off-site.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

• Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
• Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

‘This tournament I have had a lot of security with me,’ Raducanu said. ‘Of course it’s amazing to feel protected, to feel safe. I’m very grateful for the tournament for [organising] this.

‘Since the incident in Dubai, I have been a lot more aware, whereas before I maybe would have gone on walks alone. I’m not going anywhere alone. I’m pretty much chaperoned everywhere.’

Raducanu admits that additional private security is ‘extremely expensive’ but she will ‘weigh up’ if she wants to continue with a larger team going foward.

‘I live in a very safe environment [at home],’ Raducanu continued. ‘There’s people looking after the place, with really high-tech alarms and everything. It’s very secure. With my parents as well, it’s great to have them there, and you just feel a bit more comfortable with them anyway.

‘I’m not in London that much, to be honest, so [private security] is not something that I’ve necessarily looked into. I think it’s been a question that was raised maybe in the last week after Dubai, but at the same time it’s extremely expensive. I just need to weigh that up.

‘I would say in England it’s pretty difficult for me to just go out and about. Sometimes I have had neck pain from looking at the floor so much and with a cap on, but I guess it just comes with the territory.’

The ordeal has left Raducanu feeling understandingly uncomfortable around spectators, with a reluctancy around photographs and autographs.

‘When I was in Dubai, I was very much aware of all my surroundings, like looking around and stuff,’ Raducanu added. ‘Here I’ve just tried to really not look at all. I think that has helped me focus a lot more on the court, on my tennis, on the ball, and not necessarily let outside thoughts or outside events affect me as much, and it’s been helping.

‘The fans have been amazing, and they’ve been great, but I think there is a little bit of maybe [feeling uneasy]. You’re not necessarily signing everything, or taking a photo with every person, even though I’d love to. It’s just like you’re a bit unsure after what happened in Dubai.’

Speaking about her week back in London between the Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells, Raducanu said: ‘I just had a week of nothing. It was nice. I read a lot. I finished two books and spent most of my time in Gail’s [coffee shop] and Waterstones, to be honest.

‘I definitely laid low. Even when I was in England, I wasn’t really going out much. I think it was just a big shock. I wasn’t sure if I was going to play here [at Indian Wells], because I didn’t know if I was going to be ready, and the last thing I wanted to do was play if I wasn’t ready.

‘Since being here, I’ve definitely come into myself a lot more, and feeling happier, feeling more like myself again. I’m happy I made that decision. I think the allure of Indian Wells being my favourite tournament, I couldn’t just really step away from it.’

Raducanu faces Japanese world No.52 Moyuka Uchijima in her first-round match at Indian Wells.

She will then lock horns with American world No.3 Coco Gauff in the second round if she manages to battle past Uchijima, in one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Emma Raducanu will face Japanese world No.52 Moyuka Uchijima in her first-round match at Indian Wells following the stalking incident in Dubai.

Raducanu is eager to move on from the ordeal which saw her break down in tears and hide behind the umpire’s chair during her most recent match on the WTA Tour – a straight-sets defeat to Karolina Muchova last month.

The British No.2 was left distressed when she spotted an individual in the crowd, who is alleged to have followed her over multiple countries and gave her a letter, with the man since given a restraining order and banned.

Raducanu makes her return to action on Thursday at Indian Wells – a prestigious tournament in California – where she has been offered up to five extra security guards to help her feel as safe as possible.

The 22-year-old will face American world No.3 Coco Gauff in the second round if she manages to battle past Uchijima in one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Raducanu did not require a wildcard to participate at Indian Wells, with her current ranking of world No.55 enough to directly quality for the main draw.

Novak Djokovic faces possible Nick Kyrgios showdown

In the Indian Wells men’s singles, we could be set for a repeat of the 2022 Wimbledon final with Novak Djokovic on a collision course to face Nick Kyrgios.

Serbian legend Djokovic, who is being coached by Andy Murray, has received a bye to the second round and will face Kyrgios if the fiery Australian defeats a yet-to-be-named qualifier in his opening match.

Kyrgios leads the head-to-head with Djokovic 2-1 but the Aussie has lost both of his two matches on the ATP Tour so far this season as he continues his return from long-term injury problems.

Djokovic is hoping to land his sixth Indian Wells title but the 24-time major champion faces a tricky draw overall, with a possible quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz on the cards should both men progress that far.

The British are coming for teenage sensation Joao Fonseca

Joao Fonseca is hoping to continue his meteoric rise in tennis at Indian Wells after taking the sport by storm earlier this year.

Fonseca is set for an exciting battle with rising British star Jacob Fearnley in his opening match, with both players having made headlines for their impressive performances at the Australian Open in January.

The Brazilian teenager is projected to face British No.1 Jack Draper in a mouth-watering second-round clash if he defeats Fearnley on Thursday.

Emma Raducanu will head to Indian Wells with interim coach Tom Welsh after the British tennis star was targeted by a ‘stalker’ in Dubai last week.

Raducanu is eager to move on from the unpleasant incident at the Dubai Tennis Championships and will return to action in California on March 5.

The 22-year-old is currently operating without a full-time coach after Nick Cavaday left the role following the Australian Open over health reasons.

Raducanu has been working with Jane O’Donoghue and Roman Kelecic since the split with Cavaday with LTA academy coach Welsh now joining her team on a temporary basis for the Indian Wells tennis tournament.

Yutaka Nakamura, Raducanu’s strength and conditioning specialist, will also travel out to Indian Wells – with the prestigious event often considered the unofficial fifth Grand Slam on the professional tennis calendar.

Raducanu, who has been offered up to five extra security guards at Indian Wells after the incident in Dubai, is still seeking a new permanent coach.

Former British No.1 Laura Robson recently claimed Raducanu is unlikely to appoint a full-time coach any time soon as her ‘options are pretty limited’.

‘I don’t think she’s in any rush, really, to employ someone new, just for the sake of it,’ Robson told Sky Sports.

‘It has to make sense for her and it has to be the right person. There’s not too many amazing coaches around who can travel full-time.

‘So [her] options are pretty limited. You wouldn’t want to go into a new partnership without 100 per cent confidence.’

Raducanu broke down in tears and hid behind the umpire’s chair during a clash against Karolina Muchova at her most recent event in Dubai.

It later emerged that she became distressed when she spotted a man displaying ‘fixated behaviour’ in the crowd, who is alleged to have followed her over four countries and approached her before the match.

The individual, who was swiftly thrown out, reportedly gave Raducanu a letter in an off-site incident and has since been handed a restraining order by Dubai police and banned from all future tournaments.

Indian Wells organisers are keen to ensure Raducanu feels safe with the Briton ‘likely’ to be offered up to five extra security guards, The Times have reported, with Bob Campbell in charge of arrangements.

Campbell, vice-president of security for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, worked as a secret service agent for 20 years in the United States and reportedly had a prominent role during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Should Raducanu decide to accept the offer of extra security, the guards will work to ensure her safety while on-site at Indian Wells, while it is also possible they could accompany her off-site back to her accommodation.

British tennis star Emma Raducanu has offered up to five extra security guards to play at Indian Wells after being targeted by a ‘stalker’ in Dubai.

Raducanu is eager to move on from the ‘terrifying’ ordeal, which led to her breaking down in tears and hiding behind the umpire’s chair during a clash against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week.

It later emerged that the 22-year-old became distressed when she spotted a man displaying ‘fixated behaviour’ in the crowd, who is alleged to have followed her over four countries and approached her before the match.

The ‘calculated’ individual, who was swiftly thrown out, reportedly gave Raducanu a letter in an off-site incident and has since been handed a restraining order by Dubai police and banned from all future tournaments.

Raducanu returned home to the United Kingdom after her Dubai Tennis Championships exit and is next set to play at the prestigious Indian Wells tournament in California, which gets underway next week in early March.

Indian Wells organisers are keen to ensure Raducanu feels safe at the event with the Briton ‘likely’ to be offered up to five extra security guards, The Times have reported, with Bob Campbell in charge of arrangements.

Campbell, vice-president of security for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, worked as a secret service agent for 20 years in the United States and reportedly had a prominent role during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Should Raducanu decide to accept the offer of extra security, the guards will work to ensure her safety while on-site at Indian Wells, while it is also possible they could accompany her off-site back to her accommodation.

Raducanu and IMG, her management company, have the option of hiring private security too. However, the 2021 US Open winner has previously turned down additional protection, such as when she was targeted in 2022.

‘Thank you for the messages of support,’ Raducanu posted on her Instagram account about the incident in Dubai last week. ‘Difficult experience but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match.’

Roman Kelecic, who has been working with Raducanu temporarily while she seeks a new permanent coach after a split with Nick Cavaday, claimed on Friday that the alleged ‘stalker’ had been following her since Singapore.

Raducanu headed to Singapore in late January and then travelled to the United Arab Emirates for the Abu Dhabi Open, with the Brit later playing in Qatar before a second trip to the UAE for the Dubai Tennis Championships.

‘This man followed her to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi – where I was with her – again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him,’ Kelecic, who also coached Raducanu as a junior, told Croatian outlet Net.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse

Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign

Yvette Cooper’s message to abusers and rapists: The streets don’t belong to you

Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

Stories about violence against women don’t make an impact – this is why

Men – we need your help to end violence against women

‘Initially we thought he was a fan… until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging.

‘That man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.

‘It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.

‘Three or four hours before the match [in Dubai against Muchova] we have a photo of that stalker. Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.

‘The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘here he is, here he is, here he is’.’

British No.1 Jack Draper made an admission after Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev beat him 7-5 5-7 6-1 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.

Draper, world No.16, went into the clash against Russia’s world No.10 Rublev as a slight underdog, looking to land his third-ever ATP Tour title.

The 23-year-old, who has been tipped as the next Andy Murray, clinched his first two ATP Tour trophies last year in Stuttgart and Vienna.

Draper battled hard in Qatar – but came up short in the end – admitting after the match that Rublev was simply ‘too good’ during their tense showdown.

‘It’s been an amazing week,’ Draper said, with the 2024 US Open semi-finalist set to move up to a career-high world No.12 spot on Monday.

‘Andrey was too good today. We played some tough matches this week and in the third set he was just a bit too strong for me.

‘I’m really proud of my efforts this week. Every day, I wake up and try to improve, so it’s a testament to my hard work, I suppose.’

Rublev had kind words for Draper following their close-fought final, with the Russian star winning the title in Doha for the second time in his career.

‘It feels great,’ Rublev, who made headlines in 2022 for writing an anti-war message on an ATP Tour camera, said after his triumph over Draper.

‘It was a lot of tough battles. It feels great I was able to go through and somehow win them.

‘Bad luck and amazing week Jack and his team. I really like Jack as a person and I really like his game.

‘He has a really, really great career and future ahead. He will win many great things. Keep working man. You deserve everything.’

Draper has now reached a total of five finals on the ATP Tour and looks set for a huge future in tennis having already proven he is capable of playing in the latter stages of a Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows last year.

The Briton was seeded eighth in Doha and produced wins over Jiri Lehecka, Matteo Berrettini, Christopher O’Connell and Alexei Popyrin on his way to the final.

Draper will next be hoping to enjoy deep runs at the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments – two prestigious events which get underway in March.

The ‘terrifying’ man who targeted Emma Raducanu in Dubai followed the British tennis star across multiple countries, says her temporary coach.

Raducanu broke down in tears and was in clear distress during her match at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday, after an alleged ‘stalker’ was removed from the crowd for displaying ‘fixated behaviour’.

The 22-year-old, who hid behind the umpire’s chair, and was later able to complete her match against Karolina Muchova, described the harassment she endured as a ‘difficult experience’ in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

Police in Dubai confirmed on Thursday that the man had been handed a restraining order and has been forced to ‘maintain distance’ from Raducanu, with the individual also banned from future tournaments.

Roman Kelecic, who has been coaching Raducanu on a temporary basis while she seeks a new permanent coach after a split with Nick Cavaday, has now claimed that the man had been following her since Singapore.

Raducanu headed to Singapore in January and then travelled to the United Arab Emirates for the Abu Dhabi Open, with the Briton later playing in Qatar before a second trip to the UAE for the Dubai Tennis Championships.

‘This man followed her to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi – where I was with her – again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him,’ Kelecic, who also coached Raducanu as a junior, told Croatian outlet Net.

‘Initially we thought he was a fan… until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging.’

It has been claimed that Raducanu was approached by the man in a tournament restaurant on Monday – but the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have insisted that the incident occurred off-site.

The Telegraph reported that Raducanu was approached at her hotel by the man – who handed her a letter – while iNews have stated it was ‘previously understood’ that the 2021 US Open winner was approached in the street.

‘That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach, the security guard who was with us, was not with her at that moment,’ Kelecic added.

‘So, that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.

‘It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.

‘That evening we reported it immediately and again in the morning, when she was playing the match, because her safety is the most important thing to us.’

Images of the individual were circulated ahead of Raducanu’s match against Muchova, according to Kelecic, who also confirmed that it was the tennis player herself who saw him in the crowd and requested his removal.

‘Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker,’ Kelecic said. ‘Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.

‘The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘here he is, here he is, here he is’.’

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse

Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign

Yvette Cooper’s message to abusers and rapists: The streets don’t belong to you

Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

Stories about violence against women don’t make an impact – this is why

Men – we need your help to end violence against women

Raducanu opened up about the incident on social media earlier this week, posting: ‘Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience [on Tuesday] 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 for the rest of the tournament.’

Raducanu has previously been targeted during her career, with Amrit Magar convicted of stalking and given a five-year restraining order after walking 23 miles to her home in 2022.

A court heard how Raducanu was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and no longer felt ‘safe in her own home’.

Magar, who left unwanted gifts and cards for Raducanu, also stole her father’s shoe as a souvenir.

The ‘stalker’ who targeted Emma Raducanu at the Dubai Tennis Championships has been handed a restraining order by local police.

Raducanu was in tears and in clear distress during her match on Tuesday after a spectator was removed and banned for ‘fixated behaviour’.

The British tennis star described the harassment she endured as a ‘difficult experience’ in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

According to The Telegraph, Raducanu was approached at her hotel on Monday by the same man, who handed her a letter.

Raducanu has dropped formal charges against the man but Dubai police have now confirmed that he’s been given an official restraining order.

‘We have taken swift action to address an incident involving British tennis star Emma Raducanu, in accordance with local legal protocols,’ Dubai authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

‘While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments.

‘Dubai remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents and visitors to the emirate.’

Raducanu was in action against Czech star Karolina Muchova on Tuesday when she suddenly burst into tears and hid behind the umpire’s chair.

At the time, it was unclear why Raducanu was left so upset, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) later providing a statement to explain what happened.

The WTA statement on Wednesday read: ‘On Monday, 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.

‘The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse

Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign

Yvette Cooper’s message to abusers and rapists: The streets don’t belong to you

Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

Stories about violence against women don’t make an impact – this is why

Men – we need your help to end violence against women

‘We remain committed to collaborating with tournaments and their security teams worldwide to maintain a safe environment for all players.’

In a message to her followers on Instagram, Raducanu wrote: ‘Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience [on Tuesday] 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 for the rest of the tournament.’

Raducanu remarkably was able to continue and complete her match after the spectator was kicked out at the Dubai Tennis Championships, with the incident occurring early in the first set after the Briton fell 2-0 behind.

No-one would’ve blamed Raducanu for jumping on the first flight home but she played to a high level before Muchova eventually won 7-6 6-4.

The 2021 US Open champion has previously been targeted during her career, with Amrit Magar convicted of stalking and given a five-year restraining order after walking 23 miles to her home in 2022.

A court heard how Raducanu was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and no longer felt ‘safe in her own home’.

Magar, who left unwanted gifts and cards for Raducanu, also stole her father’s shoe as a souvenir.

After Raducanu was targeted in Dubai, meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) said: ‘This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face.

‘We have support available for British players and have been in contact with Emma and her team following the events in Dubai. We have extensive security arrangements at our events in Britain and keep these under constant review.

‘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.’

From Rihanna to Lily Allen, we seem to hear far too regular reports about famous women being stalked by men.

But rarely do we see the immediate impact of this violent and terrifying behaviour, as witnessed on Emma Raducanu’s face this week when she became clearly scared and hid behind the umpire’s chair while playing a tennis match in Dubai.

Unbeknown to those watching that a man in the front rows of the stadium had clearly done something to upset her. 

We are now hearing that the same man had shown ‘fixated behaviour’ towards her, delivering a letter to her at her hotel hours before the game.

He has now been banned from all WTA events worldwide, but this incident poses a serious question: where are women safe?

In my role as a consultant and educator, I am often recruited to increase women’s feelings of safety – whether that’s in public, online, or at work.

Women – like men – have a legal right to be safe at work, with tougher legislation being passed last year through the Workers’ Protection Bill to ensure they are safe from harassment in their place of work.

However, too often, I have heard women recount stories of feeling unsafe.

This can be in places like the night-time economy where women experience high rates of harassment by male customers, to nurses receiving threatening and intimidating behaviour from patients – it isn’t rare. It is common.

Women do not feel safe in the majority of spaces they inhabit on a daily basis, with many recounting their own numerous stories of male violence.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

• Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
• Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

From harassment, following, catcalling, up to much more violent behaviours – we’re witnessing the impact of this in realtime on the face of Emma Raducanu this week.

As a mother and a women’s safety consultant, it breaks my heart to see a 22-year-old, talented young woman being so intimidated and scared in a place where she should be safe.

Emma, like all women in society, has the right to perform her daily routine of work, socialising and travelling without feeling at threat and in danger from violent men.

With all the media present at this game, it goes to show just how brazen and obsessive this behaviour is and, clearly, it is something that famous women endure far too often.

Hearing that this isn’t her first encounter with a stalker shows just how prevalent this form of male violence is.

Stalking is also particularly misunderstood, not just among the general public, but through huge gaps in the criminal justice system. This indicates just how underestimated this compulsive and obsessive behaviour is and how indicative that offenders may perpetrate more serious violence in the future.

Just look at the case of Gracie Spinks, who was murdered in 2021 by a man she reported to police for stalking her months before he brutally killed her.

The jury listed a number of police failings – with Derbyshire Police even offering their ‘most sincere apologies’ – but they could not conclude that these contributed to Gracie’s death.

The list of celebrity women in the public eye subjected to violence from men goes on and on.

Holly Willoughby bravely revoked her right to anonymity in a case against a stalker who was jailed last year for his plan to kidnap, rape, and murder her after becoming obsessed with the TV star.

Those of us old enough will also remember the horrific event of Monica Seles being stabbed live on TV while playing a match against Magdalena Maleeva in Germany in 1993. Described then as a ‘fan’ of Steffi Graf – who Seles had a sporting rivalry with – the incident led to much increased security measures for players at games.

Yet, these stories seem to be more prevalent than ever.

Of course, social media and an increased online presence plays its part in the increase of obsessive and threatening behaviour towards women, with Technology-Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV) being an issue in its own right. 

This is where abusers will strategically use things like social media and other online platforms to abuse others. 

There have even been stories of men using online bank transfers to send ex-partners abusive messages to continue harassment.  

However, what this really proves is that violent and misogynistic men will use any means possible to intimidate and threaten women, regardless of where they are.

Until we eradicate the phenomena of male entitlement – which allows men to believe they have ownership over women and their bodies – we will continue to see and hear terrifying stories of this nature.

Let’s hope, for Emma and all the women out there, that, as a society we finally heed this wake up call and recognise the seriousness and threat of male violence for all women. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

Female tennis stars have revealed their fears surrounding safety and online threats after Emma Raducanu’s distressing courtside incident in Dubai.

Raducanu was visibily upset during her second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova in the Dubai Tennis Championships after spotting a man showing ‘fixated behaviour’ in the crowds.

The individual was subsequently removed from the stands, with it later emerging that the same man had approached her in her hotel the day prior.

The Brit has since posted a short message on Instagram, thanking fans for their support and insisting she will bounce back from the ‘difficult experience’.

However, the incident has once again shone a spotlight on the issues surrounding the safety of top-level sportswomen both at events and online.

Raducanu, herself, has previously been targeted during her career as in 2022, Amrit Magar was convicted of stalking and given a five-year restraining order after walking 23 miles to her home.

A court heard how Raducanu was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and no longer felt ‘safe in her own home’.

And after the latest incident, several other players have spoken out about their own experiences.

Iga Swiatek, the current World No.2, said she narrowly avoided a scary incident with a fan during an event back in her native Poland.

‘We were able to avoid one incident that might have been scary back in the day when I was hosting my own event in Poland,’ Swiatek recalled.

‘There are fans that are kind of, I don’t know, everywhere. But I’m pretty sure that they don’t have any bad intentions.

‘Obviously we are public persons, so we should always keep our eyes open and be ready to react if we feel uncomfortable. I’m sure it must have been tough for Emma.’

17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, who takes on Swiatek in the quarter-finals in Dubai, said she has previously received graphic threats online after losing matches.

‘After every loss I think every player receives a bunch of hateful messages,’ Andreeva revealed.

‘I remember once when I was young, when I was 14 years old, I was playing one of my first ITF tournaments and I received a message after my loss that said: ‘Look around because I’m going to find you and I’m going to cut your arms’.

‘That was still the one that I remember to this day.’

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Emma Raducanu has described the harassment she endured at the Dubai Tennis Championships as a ‘difficult experience’ after a man was ejected from her match for showing ‘fixated behaviour’.

The 22-year-old was in clear distress as she halted her match against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday evening in order to speak with the umpire.

A tearful Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021, was comforted by her opponent as she hid behind the umpire’s chair, while a man who was seated near the front row was removed from the crowd by security staff.

The WTA later revealed that Raducanu had been approached the previous day ‘by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour’.

According to The Telegraph, Raducanu was approached at her hotel on Monday by the same man who handed her a letter. It’s understood that the man is not a British national.

In a message to her followers on Instagram, Raducanu wrote: ‘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 for the rest of the tournament.’

The WTA said in a statement: ‘On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

• Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
• Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

‘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. The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her wellbeing 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.’

An LTA spokesperson said: ‘This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face.

‘We have support available for British players and have been in contact with Emma and her team following the events in Dubai. We have extensive security arrangements at our events in Britain and keep these under constant review.

‘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.’

Raducanu has previously been targeted during her career as in 2022, Amrit Magar was convicted of stalking and given a five-year restraining order after walking 23 miles to her home.

A court heard how Raducanu was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and no longer felt ‘safe in her own home’.

Magar, who left unwanted gifts and cards for Raducanu, also stole her father’s shoe as a souvenir.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Emma Raducanu was in tears during her Dubai Tennis Championships match on Tuesday after a spectator was removed and banned after displaying ‘fixated behaviour’.

The 22-year-old was taking on Karolina Muchova and after falling 2-0 behind in the opening set of the match, Raducanu looked visibly distraught and was spotted wiping away tears with her towel while stood courtside.

It was not clear at the time what was distressing the British star, but the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has since revealed that she had previously been approached by a man who was then in the crowd.

Raducanu informed the umpire and stood behind the official’s chair as the man was removed from the arena and has since been banned.

A WTA statement on Wednesday read: ‘On Monday 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.

‘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 British tennis star ended the worst losing run of her entire career on Sunday with an impressive 6-4 6-2 victory over Greek star Maria Sakkari.

Amid the distressing circumstances of Monday, Raducanu was unable to reach the last 16 in the United Arab Emirates, as Muchova produced a 7-6 6-4 win over the 2021 US Open winner.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

• Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
• Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

Despite suffering defeat in a rollercoaster battle – Raducanu actually won more overall points than her opponent – in what was a brave effort against an opponent ranked 44 places above her in the current WTA standings.

Czech world No.17 star Muchova was 5-2 up in the first set but had to save set points in a highly-competitive match against world No.61 Raducanu.

Ultimately, it was Muchova who took her chances and won the big points to eliminate Raducanu from the Dubai Tennis Championships.

‘You never want to see a player in tears on court,’ said a Sky Sports commentator as the incident unfolded. ‘This is meant to be a fun game.’

Raducanu is currently playing without a full-time coach after Nick Cavaday stepped away from the role due to health reasons following the Australian Open.

Raducanu started the year in fine form, reaching the third round at the Australian Open with impressive wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.

But the former world No.10 then suffered four defeats in a row, losing to Iga Swaitek at Melbourne Park before first-round exits in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha to Cristina Bucsa, Marketa Vondrousova and Alexandrova.

Speaking after she ended that losing streak with victory over Sakkari, Raducanu said: ‘I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria.

‘She’s a top player, been as high as three in the world. I’m just really proud of my performance.’

After losing to Muchova, Raducanu is now expected to jet home to the United Kingdom to get herself ready for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

Novak Djokovic gave a brutally honest response when asked how tennis players really feel about Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban from the sport.

It was announced on Saturday that Sinner will serve an immediate suspension after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in a decision described ‘dodgy as’ and ‘too convenient’ by Australian star Nick Kyrgios and former British No.1 Tim Henman respectively.

The Italian world No.1 superstar, who won the Australian Open title last month, failed two drug tests last year and is banned until May 4, meaning he won’t miss any Grand Slams and is free to play at the French Open.

Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol, a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass, with WADA accepting his explanation that he was accidentally contaminated by a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the banned substance to treat a finger cut.

The Sinner scandal has been a big talking point – with many feeling the 23-year-old has benefited from special treatment – and 24-time major winner Djokovic has now revealed how other players really feel about the situation.

‘It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,’ Djokovic said. ‘The majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening.

‘It seems like it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.’

Sinner isn’t the only tennis star accused of receiving special treatment due to his profile, following last month’s news that WADA will not appeal against the one-month ban handed to Polish world No.2 Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek, one of the biggest names on the WTA Tour, tested positive for trimetazidine but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled the adverse finding was due to a contaminated non-prescription medication.

Djokovic feels that Sinner and Swiatek were treated differently to Romania’s Simona Halep and British player Tara Moore, who were hit with significantly lengthier bans in cases which dragged on much longer.

‘Swiatek and Sinner are innocent and it’s proven, unless it’s proven otherwise,’ Djokovic added. ‘So, right now we know they’re innocent.

‘We’ve seen on social media, Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known, that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years or have gotten the ban for years.’

Halep was slapped with a four-year suspension in 2022, which was eventually reduced to nine months following a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

British doubles specialist Moore, meanwhile, was forced to serve a 19-month ban despite a tribunal later finding that contaminated meat was the cause of the banned substances she tested positive for.

Moore, reacting to Sinner’s ban on social media on Monday, said: ‘I don’t think any of this was Sinner’s fault. I’m simply asking that everyone get the same treatment.

‘I hope his case will further improve the conditions in which players are treated and will be a precedent for future cases’ timelines.’

Djokovic believes that anti-doping processes in tennis need an urgent review.

‘I think right now it’s a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work with anti-doping,’ the 37-year-old said.

‘It’s obvious. So, I hope that in the next period of the near future that the governing bodies are going to come together with our Tours and the tennis ecosystem and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes.’

Meanwhile, in other tennis news, Djokovic has confirmed his partnership with coach Andy Murray will continue ‘indefinitely’.

Djokovic stunned the tennis world in November when he announced that his former Big Four rival Murray was set to join his coaching team for the Australian Open, in a move which delighted many fans across the globe.

British icon Murray helped the Serbian reach the semi-finals before Djokovic was forced to retire with injury, and the duo decided after the tournament that they’d have a ‘cool off’ period before making future plans.

In a fresh update, Djokovic told the ATP Tour’s in-house media channel: ‘It is indefinite in terms of how long we are going to work together.

‘But we agreed most likely in the States and some clay-court tournaments. We will see how it goes after that.

‘He obviously has a unique perspective on my game. He has played me and all of the current best players in the world and knows everyone well.

‘He knows exactly what we need to do tactically – the evolution of my game and what needs to be improved.

‘He has a positive approach and has handled the whole pressure very well as it is a completely different situation from being there as a player.

‘He has been terrific with all the other team members and while it was unfortunate the way the Australian Open finished with injury, we had a great run.’

Jannik Sinner will serve an immediate three-month tennis ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The Italian world No.1, who won the Australian Open title last month, failed two drug tests last year and is now suspended from February 9 to May 4.

Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol – a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass – with WADA accepting his explanation that he was accidentally contaminated by a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the banned substance to treat a finger cut.

WADA says the three-time Grand Slam winner, who will be able to return in time for the start of the French Open on May 19, ‘did not intend to cheat’ but insists that the 23-year-old is responsible for his team’s negligence.

In a statement on Saturday, WADA, who previously stated it was seeking a ban of between one and two years, said: ‘WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision.

‘WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.

‘However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.’

Sinner, who failed the two drug tests in March 2024, was cleared in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced at the time.

The Italian tennis star then fired his physio Giacomo Naldi and trainer Umberto Ferrara – with Sinner claiming the latter had supplied Naldi with the spray which contained the banned substance.

It was initially thought that Sinner had escaped punishment before WADA appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September.

In a statement released by his lawyers, Sinner said: ‘This case had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year.

‘I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted Wada’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.’

The scandal surrounding Sinner was notably controversial with many feeling that he had benefited from specialist treatment, comparing his case to the likes of Simona Halep and other stars accused of doping.

Sinner, though, always denied those accusations and previously said: ‘I was treated like everyone else. The reason why I kept playing was because we knew exactly how it entered my system and where it was from. It was in the spray.

‘So all things considered, I haven’t had a different treatment. The process was very long.

‘Then after it went with bigger weight because when you feel like the result is coming – you still don’t know what’s coming. It was a not easy period for me.’

Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, said she would welcome the opportunity to work with Emma Raducanu as the Brit’s concerning form continues.

Raducanu is currently enduring the worst losing run of her career after another first-round exit at the Qatar Open last Sunday.

The Brit’s 6-3 6-7 loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova marked the 22-year-old’s fourth loss in a row and third consecutive first-round exit after poor performances in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

The World No.60 showed some glimpses of her old self with a run to the third round of the Australian Open at the start of the year, but any momentum has been hard to come by since then.

Raducanu’s coach Nick Cavaday stepped away from the role due to health reasons after the Grand Slam in Melbourne but the Brit is yet to find a replacement.

Stubbs, though, a former doubles major champion who worked with Williams during the 2022 US Open, said she would happily throw her name into the hat to take on a coaching role with Raducanu.

‘I would consider it (coaching Raducanu), of course,’ she said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

‘I would never say no to an opportunity of working with a Grand Slam champion.

‘What would I work on? The first thing I would do is sit her down and ask her what she wants. I think that’s the key.

‘You have to know what your player wants. I think they all come in and think I am going to tweak this or that. I would sit her down and say, ‘let’s be honest here, what do you want? How do you want to approach this?’ And then we go from there.’

Stubbs contiunued: ‘It’s a bit of a sit down, come to Jesus moment and be honest with her about where I feel like her top level is and how she can get there and not be like, ‘we can win another Slam tomorrow’.

‘Because it’s unlikely at this point. So what are her goals realistically and what can we do to get there?’

Speaking earlier in the month, Raducanu said she was in no hurry to appoint a permanent replacement for Cavaday.

‘I think that’s why I haven’t necessarily jumped into something straight away, because I want to make sure it’s a right fit,’ she said prior to the Abu Dhabi Open earlier in February.

‘And I think this period where I don’t necessarily have someone is going to tell me a lot. It’s going to teach me a lot, what I want, what I don’t want to look for in the next person.

‘So, I think I’m using this time period to just figure out what I really value. I’m not too sure yet right now. I haven’t come to any plans or decisions. So yeah, I’m just taking it, using the next couple weeks to see how I feel, and then make a decision.’

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British tennis legend Andy Murray has confessed he had to be rescued off a ski slope after an ’embarrassing’ recent accident in the Alps.

Murray entered retirement last year following the Olympic Games in Paris, with the former world No.1 jetting off for a family ski holiday before joining Novak Djokovic’s coaching team for the Australian Open in January.

The two-time Wimbledon champion has opened up about the trip in a new interview, sharing an amusing anecdote about how he struggled with skiing so much that his wife Kim did not want to be spotted with him.

Murray, who married his long-term partner Kim in 2015 and has four children with her, told the Sporting Misadventures Podcast: ‘The first two days were shocking. I couldn’t get off the ski lift. I couldn’t get up.

‘They’re quite low some of the ski lifts. My wife refused to go on the ski lifts with me because it’s embarrassing, isn’t it, when I just couldn’t get up.

‘So I was having to go on with strangers who were like having to lift me up. My brother-in-law (Scott Sears) was having to help me.’

Explaining the story of how he required a rescue off a ski slope, Murray added: ‘The first day I got stuck up the mountain.

‘We were on a beginner’s slope at the end of the day. The ski lift to take you back up to the top was closing and there was another one slightly further down the hill. Me and my brother-in-law, we’re like, let’s just go a little bit further and we’ll go up the other ski lift.

‘We went down the mountain a little bit. I can’t ski. I don’t know how to stop at this stage. We’d been on literally a beginner green slope. We were, let’s say, four 4/500m down the slope, got to where the ski lift was, and the other ski lift had shut.

‘The guy who was operating it said the only way to get down now is you have to get down the mountain. I was like, ‘I can’t ski’ – he was like, ‘You shouldn’t have gone up when you were told it was closing’ – the only way is you’ve got to go for it.

‘He said, ‘It’s about 3km to the bottom’ – it’s late in the day so it gets icy as well, it’s harder. I had no idea how to stop. I’d gone for about 500m, narrow slope and I’m like, if I try to turn, I’m going off the side here.

‘I’m going straight down the mountain. I’ve gone past my brother-in-law and shouting to him: ‘I’m in trouble here, I don’t know how to stop here!’

‘I throw myself on the ground and then started trying to go down on my a**e which I couldn’t really do. I got to a restaurant, eventually, having picked up the skis and I’m now walking, and I had to get rescued on one of those skidoos.

‘The people are snapping about that – the rescue team – are snapping because it is usually drunk British people at the end of the day who have got stuck up the mountain.

‘That’s not really their job. They’re there to help people who are injured rather than just some idiot that thought they could get down the slope late in the day. That was a bit embarrassing.’

Djokovic teased his coach Murray over the skiing trip at the Brisbane International before the Australian Open got underway.

‘He is skiing at the moment,’ Djokovic said. ‘He has a family skiing trip. Sending my love to all the Murray family.

‘I hope he doesn’t get injured skiing before he comes to Melbourne. That wouldn’t be great!’

Andy Murray is reportedly set to continue his partnership with Novak Djokovic, despite British star Emma Raducanu still seeking a new coach.

Djokovic stunned the tennis world in November when he announced that his former Big Four rival Murray was set to join his coaching team for the Australian Open, in a move which delighted many fans across the world.

British icon Murray helped the Serbian reach the semi-finals before Djokovic was forced to retire with injury, and the duo decided after the tournament that they’d have a ‘cool off’ period before making future plans.

There has now been an update on the future of their partnership, with The Times reporting on Monday that Murray is set to remain on Djokovic’s team ‘as the season proceeds towards the French Open and Wimbledon’.

Indian Wells, which takes place in California next month, ‘is considered the likely next meeting point’ for Djokovic and Murray, with the former set to make his return from injury at the Qatar Open in Doha next week.

Tennis fans have been reacting on social media, with @xhaka_khan2 posting on X that ‘Raducanu could have done with Andy’s help, if she hadn’t let him down at Wimbledon’ at last year’s Championships.

Raducanu, who became the first Brit since Murray to taste major glory at the 2021 US Open, is currently enduring the worst losing run of her career.

She has been without a full-time coach since her exit from the Australian Open, with Nick Cavaday stepping away from the role over health reasons.

Plenty of British tennis fans were hoping that Murray would team up with Raducanu but that appears to be off the cards at this moment in time.

Raducanu and Murray had a fall-out at Wimbledon last year, after she decided to pull out of their mixed doubles partnership.

Raducanu was enjoying a run in the women’s singles and snubbed the mixed doubles after hurting her wrist, denying Murray any more matches at the Grand Slam event on his final appearance there before retirement.

Speaking at the Australian Open this year, Raducanu revealed that she had apologised to Murray and claimed that the pair were ‘fine now’.

‘I sent him a long message, basically: ‘If I caused any trouble I guess at Wimbledon, that’s definitely the last thing I want,” Raducanu said.

‘He’s someone that I’ve grown up looking up to and I don’t want any bad blood or harsh feelings with him.

‘I sent [Murray] a long message and he took it really well and responded saying he was disappointed but he understood. We’re fine now. We walk past each other and say ‘hello’, ‘well done’.

‘I really wanted to [smooth things over with him]. Whether or not I can go back and turn back time and do things differently, that’s in the past.

‘All I can do is kind of evaluate that and learn going forwards. And I wanted to take the initiative, because growing up, he was one of my idols.

‘And he still is, with everything he’s achieved in the game, coming from the UK and the same system and everything.

‘He’s someone I respect a lot, and I just didn’t want any negative tension in the air, more than anything, because I’m going to see him around. I just didn’t want that.

‘It didn’t feel right, so I texted him and he replied, and it was like a really nice message. So I’m glad I did that and I just hope he doesn’t hate me too much.’

Emma Raducanu is now on the longest losing run of her entire career to spark an intense debate over why she keeps being awarded wildcards.

Raducanu lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round of the Qatar Open on Sunday to mark four straight WTA defeats for the first time ever.

Alexandrova’s 6-3 7-5 win over Raducanu follows the Briton’s first-round exits in Abu Dhabi and Singapore and her third-round Australian Open exit.

Some felt world No.60 Raducanu, who is currently working without a full-time coach, was lucky to play at the Qatar Open in the first place after she was controversially handed a wildcard over Swiss star Belinda Bencic.

A tennis wildcard is given to a player who has a ranking not high enough to automatically qualify for the main draw of an event, like Raducanu in Qatar.

Tournament organisers decide who receives wildcards and they can be based on factors such as a player’s potential to bring in a large crowd, such as Raducanu, who attracted world fame by historically winning the US Open as an unknown qualifier four years ago.

Raducanu has been given a staggering 12 wildcard entries since she made her return from surgery in 2024, with some tennis fans accusing tournament organisers of being too focused on marketability.

‘Waiting for Raducanu to get another underserved wild card in Dubai,’ one tennis fan, @ZAN_93, posted on X.

‘Stop giving her wild cards!’ a second tennis fan, @Filip_Misiurek, added. ‘This pseudo star hasn’t played a good match in 4 years. Her performances do not attract fans because they are short, boring, bland and emotionless.’

‘One can see, from the comments here, how unproductive undeserved wild cards can become,’ @judas_bricaud said.

‘Raducanu is turning every week more and more tennis fans against her. Bouchard went through the same after Wimbledon 2014, and we all know the career she had afterwards…’

@ViewUnmasked posted: ‘And here goes the wild card down the drain. It’s a shame, @BelindaBencic could have made better use of it.’

Bencic, world No.65, missed out on a wildcard for Qatar despite clinching the Abu Dhabi Open title on Saturday. It marked her first trophy since returning to the WTA Tour after giving birth.

Ekaterina Alexandrova delighted to secure revenge over Emma Raducanu

Raducanu was hopeful of ending her three-match losing streak against Alexandrova in Qatar, given she beat the same player at the Australian Open last month.

But the British No.2 – ranked inside the world top 10 three years ago – blew 3-1 leads in both sets to crash out of the first WTA 1000 event of the year.

Speaking after the match, Russian star Alexandrova admitted that she was targeting revenge over one-time Grand Slam champion Raducanu.

‘I was looking forward to this match because last match we played it was really close and really difficult,’ Alexandrova said.

‘I was really upset after that match, so when I saw the draw, I thought maybe it’s going to be my chance. I’m really happy with the win, especially after what happened at the Australian Open.’