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.
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‘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.
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‘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.
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