17-Year-Old Andreeva Reveals Disgusting Message She Received Amid Raducanu Stalker Incident
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Emma Raducanu's worrying moment involving a stalker at the 2025 Dubai Championships has led to some other players discussing safety issues. That included Mirra Andreeva mentioning a threatening message that has stuck with her.
Raducanu suddenly became distressed during her match in Dubai against Karolina Muchova and hid behind the umpire's chair until an individual in the crowd was removed and not allowed to re-enter.
After the match, the WTA announced that a man who had been 'fixated' with Raducanu the day before her battle with Muchova was the individual removed from the crowd. Hopefully, Raducanu never encounters him ever again.
17-year-old Andreeva can relate to Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, in terms of being a young player who burst onto the scene and generated attention worldwide for that reason.
Some might be surprised to learn that Andreeva has been dealing with abuse since before she turned professional. The teenager recounted a particularly despicable message she received as a 14-year-old.
"After every loss I think every player receives a bunch of hateful messages. I remember once when I was young, when I was 14 years old, I was playing one of my first ITF tournaments and I received a message after my loss that said: 'Look around because I'm going to find you and I'm going to cut your arms'. That was still the one that I remember to this day."
It is disgraceful that a player of any age has to deal with such a violent threat. However, a 14-year-old reading a message like that is even more beyond the pale and must have been terrifying for Andreeva at the time.
Although the young star also said in her remarks at the press conference that she feels safe at tournaments because of having security guards around her during autographs, the threat of a stalker or other dangerous figures still exists for top athletes.
Andreeva's age means it is particularly important that she has the right people around her to deal with the stresses and anxieties that come with being a rising star on the WTA Tour and managing the lengthy and grueling tennis calendar.
Having former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez as her coach probably helps with that. Andreeva has spoken approvingly of how the Spaniard provides support and handles the 17-year-old when she is being a difficult teenager.
Interestingly, the partnership with Martinez might never have happened since she was not Andreeva's first choice for the role. Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina revealed that last year's Ningbo Open runner-up attempted to hire her before appointing Martinez.
Ultimately, the possible deal with Safina falling through and Martinez being hired was probably for the best. Since her appointment almost 12 months ago, Andreeva's coach has done a great job developing her technical and mental game.
How much of a star Andreeva could be in the future is why allowing her to focus as much as possible on tennis and not on abusive messages or stalkers will help her. The incident with Raducanu was a reminder of how dangerous things can get.
