Emma Raducanu addresses ‘terrifying’ experience with ‘stalker’ which left her in tears mid-match in Dubai

Emma Raducanu experienced a panic attack at her second round match in the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Emma Raducanu addresses ‘terrifying’ experience with ‘stalker’ which left her in tears mid-match in Dubai

Emma Raducanu (Image via X)

Emma Raducanu experienced a full-blown panic attack in her second round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. After defeating Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the prior round, she faced Karolina Muchova in the next round. During her match against Muchova, Raducanu spotted a man in the first few rows.

The Brit was at 0-2 in the first set when she approached her team for a brief conversation before she talked to the chair umpire. After that, she slowly walked away to conceal herself behind the chair umpire to calm herself down. Muchova too came to console her. Raducanu could be seen wiping away her tears with a towel.

YouTube video

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 Karolína for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.

Emma Raducanu via Instagram

On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behavior. This same person was identified in the first few rows during Raducanu’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Tennis Championships. It triggered a panic attack in Raducanu and the man was subsequently ejected by the security. The WTA later took action against the man, banning him from subsequent matches.

FS Video

Raducanu addressed this incident on her Instagram story, thanking everyone for their support during this difficult experience. This message could be seen along the backdrop of a cup of coffee and a namesake novel, ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen. Several tennis fans have commended the WTA for prioritizing Raducanu’s safety and promptly addressing the issues she was facing.

RELATED
Reilly Opelka faces heat from fans after distasteful comments against doubles specialists saying they are “failed singles players”
Taylor Fritz Reilly Opelka

Emma Raducanu’s 2025 season so far

Emma Raducanu commenced her 2025 season with the Australian Open, where she reached the third round of the tournament for the first time in her career. She lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets in this round.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu (Image via WTA/X)

She then played in the Singapore Tennis Open, where she had a first-round exit after losing to Cristina Bucsa. She had a series of first round exits at the Abu Dhabi Open and Qatar Open as well, where she respectively lost to Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Raducanu then competed in the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she lost to Karolina Muchova in the second round. On her Instagram story, Raducanu also wished Muchova all the best for her upcoming rounds, as she is set to face Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals of the tournament.