The scenes involving a tearful Emma Raducanu at the Dubai tennis championships must give pause for thought about the terrifying ordeals faced by women sports stars. Raducanu broke down in tears just two games into a second-round match against her opponent Karolina Muchova. The match had to be stopped after the former British No. 1 appeared to visibly panic, then began to cry, before approaching the umpire to ask for help.
In remarkable scenes, Raducanu then appeared to cower behind the umpire’s chair while a ‘fixated’ man was removed from the crowd. She was comforted during this time by the umpire and Muchova before play could resume.
Plenty of other women tennis stars have spoken publicly about the dangers of stalkers
It has now been revealed that on Monday – the day before the match – Raducanu, who has in the recent past attracted the attention of stalkers, had been approached in a public area by a man who exhibited what was described as ‘fixated behaviour’.
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