Emma Raducanu Makes Statement Addressing Concerning Stalker Incident In Dubai
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Emma Raducanu experienced a worrying and unpleasant moment in her 2025 Dubai Championships match against Karolina Muchova. The Briton has commented about it for the first time since it happened.
After the second game of Raducanu's round of 32 match against Muchova, she walked to the umpire's chair, looking panicked, and said something that could not be heard at the time while in tears.
Raducanu then hid behind the umpire's chair, being consoled by Muchova a few seconds later. Eventually, a spectator was removed from the crowd, and the 22-year-old felt comfortable enough to resume playing.
After the match, the WTA released a statement stating that an individual had approached her on February 17th, the day before her contest with Muchova, and showed what the governing body called "fixated behavior."
That same person being in the stands for Raducanu's match is what led to the 2021 US Open champion becoming so upset, which is entirely understandable. No athlete should have to deal with being stalked.
Raducanu released a short statement about the incident on Instagram. She thanked those who had expressed support since that moment and also signaled out Muchova for her willingness to comfort her.
"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."
The Briton is rightly proud of her performance against Muchova. Raducanu responded from being so visibly shaken to compete against someone in the Czech's class. After an entertaining battle, she ultimately lost 6-7, 4-6.
Having someone be so fixated on her probably brought back bad memories from 2022, when a man was given a five-year restraining order after walking several miles to try to see Raducanu before the WTA star's dad picked him up on a camera.
Hopefully, Raducanu does not go through anything like that again. While those incidents are never acceptable under any circumstances, they are, unfortunately, a danger well-known female athletes face.
Top male athletes have also been stalked, and that should also be condemned to the same extent. However, female sports stars are undoubtedly more at risk and deal with that fear more than their male counterparts.
Raducanu deserves to focus purely on her tennis career. The former US Open winner's opening-round victory against Maria Sakkari in Dubai ended a four-match losing streak before she was competitive against Muchova.
Although ups and downs are natural during the long and grueling tennis calendar, Raducanu has a chance to build on her encouraging performances in Dubai during the upcoming North American hardcourt swing.
It is unknown whether she will have a permanent coach by then. Raducanu has competed since the Australian Open without the same coach after Nick Cavaday left her team for family and health reasons.
Adjusting to playing without Cavaday proved difficult in the first few tournaments, and hiring a new permanent coach soon might be a wise move.
