Emma Raducanu’s coach gives more details about horrifying stalker incident at Dubai
Roman Kelecic remarked that the man who showed 'fixated behaviour' followed Emma Raducanu to Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and now Dubai.
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Emma Raducanu (via X)
On Thursday, a man was given a restraining order after approaching Emma Raducanu with ‘fixated behaviour’ before her match in the Dubai Tennis Championships two days earlier. A Dubai Police statement read that they had detained a tourist who approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behaviour that caused her distress.
Roman Kelecic coached Raducanu before she turned professional and was seen working with her in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Kelecic told Croatian outlet Net that this man followed her to Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and now Dubai.
The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘Here he is, here he is, here he is.’
Roman Kelecic said to Sky News
Initially Emma Raducanu‘s team presumed him to be a fan, an admirer, because Raducanu, a former US Open champion, is a really big tennis star with a huge fanbase. However, he later got physically close to her and started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.
Roman Keletic who has been coaching Emma spoke to the Croatian media about what happened in Dubai (obviously with her permission)
— Raducanu News (@RaducanuNews) February 21, 2025
Some points from the article
The individual attended the tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha & Dubai
On Monday, Emma was at a restaurant in…
Emma Raducanu was also allegedly approached by the same man in a tournament restaurant on Monday. Kelecic added that it was the only moment in a month where him, the fitness coach, the security guard who were usually with the team, was not with Raducanu at that moment.
Emma Raducanu experienced a panic attack in the match
That evening Emma Raducanu’s team reported about the man immediately and again in the morning, when she was playing her Round of 32 match against Karolina Muchova. Kelecic added that despite images of the man being distributed before her match in Dubai, it was actually Raducanu who noticed him in the crowd and asked for him to be removed.
After losing the first game to Muchova 6(6)-7(8), Raducanu ran to her team, crying and shouting, having noticed the same man in the first row. Raducanu then approached the chair umpire in tears just two games into her second-round defeat to Muchova before the individual in question was subsequently ejected from the court by security and banned from all future WTA events “pending a threat assessment”.
Raducanu later took to Instagram on Wednesday to thank fans and Muchova for their support following the incident. Despite this difficult experience, Raducanu expressed that she was proud of how she came back and competed.
She expressed her gratitude to Muchova, who had consoled her during the match and wished her all the best for the upcoming matches. Muchova had a pretty good run in the Dubai Tennis Championships, reaching the semifinals, where she lost to Clara Tauson in three sets.
The WTA later released a statement reiterating that player safety is their “top priority” and that they would be working with Raducanu and her team to ensure she receives all the support she may require.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2650 Articles Published)