Emma Raducanu opens up on stalking ordeal before Indian Wells opener - 'I could barely breathe'
Updated 07/03/2025 at 09:40 GMT
Ahead of her return to tennis, Emma Raducanu has opened up about the stalking ordeal which left her in "tears." The 2021 US Open winner is preparing for her first tournament since the incident in Dubai last month. She will play at Indian Wells this week. But before her taking to the court, the 22-year-old has described how she was impacted by what happened, admitting she was left "distraught."
Emma Raducanu of Great Britain reacts while playing against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan in the first round on Day 2 of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Image credit: Getty Images
Emma Raducanu has opened up on the stalking ordeal last month which left her "distraught."
The incident occurred at the Dubai Open and left the 22-year-old visibly shaken.
A man was ejected for his behaviour, handed a restraining order and banned from future tournaments during her match against Karolina Muchova.
Raducanu has not played since, but is now preparing for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Speaking ahead of her first-round match against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, the former US Open champion revealed how she was affected mentally by what happened.
"I was obviously very distraught," she said. "I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish.’
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"I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe.
"I was playing Karolina, who’s top 17 in the world or something. I’m like, ‘I need to just take a breather here,’ and then the first four games kind of ran away from me.
"I was not on the court, to be honest, and I’m not really sure how I regrouped.
"I think that was a pretty good effort for me to carry on playing in that match, in that scenario. I finished the match, and I even had chances in the first set, but, yeah, it was a very emotional time."
The unnamed man followed Raducanu across three different countries this year, as she participated in tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha, as well as Dubai.
Although he has been banned from attending Indian Wells, the British No. 2 will have extra security personnel throughout the event.
It means she will be accompanied at all times when out in public.
"There were two instances," she continued. "It was the second one that I just got freaked out by.
"The first one was more like a normal fan approaching you, except for the fact that he told me he followed me everywhere.
"And then he kind of watched me in the coffee shop for a while. The second incident was really worrying."
It will therefore be a relief to the 22-year-old to get back to playing tennis after a troubling few weeks.
She has a reasonable number of points to defend in Indian Wells, having reached the third round last year.
Indeed, the event has proved to be Raducanu's most successful Masters 1000 tournament, having gone one step further in 2023.
"There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening," she concluded.
"I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here. I feel a lot better."
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