Emma Raducanu has spoken about her stalking ordeal for the first time, disclosing on Tuesday that she “couldn’t see the ball through tears” and could “barely breathe” after noticing the man who had followed her across borders throughout February was sitting metres away from her in the stands of a match in Dubai.
Raducanu was in the second round of the Dubai Open against Karolina Muchova when she paused the match and was overcome with emotions, positioning herself behind the umpire’s chair while the spectator was removed. “I was very distraught,” said Raducanu as she prepares for the Indian Wells Open. “I saw him first game of the match, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna finish’.”
The incident underlined the security problems many female athletes face and Roman Kelecic, Raducanu’s interim coach during the tournaments in the Middle East, provided further context. He told the Croatian newspaper Vecernji list that the man had followed Raducanu at consecutive tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha and then Dubai and he had carefully chosen moments to approach her when she was alone.
“There were two instances and it was the second one that I just got freaked out by,” said the 22-year-old. “The first one was more like a normal fan approaching you, except for the fact he told me he followed me from everywhere. And then [he] watched me in the coffee shop for a while … the second incident was really worrying.”
Shortly after her US Open triumph in 2021, she had an encounter with a stalker, Amrit Magar, who had visited her family home, stealing items from their front porch as he believed they belonged to Raducanu. He was given a five-year restraining order from Raducanu and community service in 2022.
During the court hearings, Raducanu said she felt her freedom had been “taken away from me”. In light of her experiences with obsessive, invasive fans, Raducanu is being escorted by extra security at Indian Wells.
“It was a very emotional time,” she said on Tuesday. “After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost. There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening and I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here. I feel a lot better.”
after newsletter promotion
Raducanu is due to face Moyuka Uchijima of Japan on Thursday in the first round at Indian Wells, a WTA 1000 event and the biggest tournament since the Australian Open in January. The winner will face Coco Gauff, the third seed, after the 2023 US Open champion received a bye.
Source: theguardian.com
