The 22-year-old British tennis player broke down in tears as security escorted the man from the arena last month
British tennis star Emma Raducanu says she struggled to breathe and “couldn’t see the ball through tears” when her match last month was paused at the Dubai Tennis Championships while security led a “fixated” man out of the crowd.
Raducanu, 22, told reporters this week that she could “barely breathe” when the umpire halted the match in order for security to escort the man out of the arena. Raducanu eventually lost the second-round match to Karolina Muchova in back-to-back sets after the umpire resumed the contest.
“I was obviously very distraught,” Raducanu told reporters in Indian Wells, Calif., this week, according to the Associated Press. The 2021 U.S. Open Winner will return to tennis at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this week, her first since the incident in Dubai last month.
“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,” Raducanu said, according to the AP. “I could barely breathe. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather here.
Raducanu said she “did break down in tears” after the match, “but not necessarily because I lost.”
“It was a very emotional time,” she added.
ESPN reported that Raducanu had been approached by the man twice off the court during her time in Dubai leading up to the match. Raducanu told reporters that the man had been at her matches in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha in the weeks prior, as well.
The man was detained by Dubai police following the incident, who reported that the man also left her a note and took her picture in addition to following her at her matches, the AP reported last month.
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,” Raducanu said this week, noting that she feels “a lot better” after a few weeks away.
Raducanu has dealt with stalkers before, receiving a restraining order against a fan in 2022 who came to her home three times, according to the AP.
Thank you for the messages of support,” she wrote on Instagram last month following the most recent incident. “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.
