The WTA confirmed on Wednesday that a male fan who showed “fixated behavior” toward British tennis star Emma Raducanu was ejected from the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The incident occurred during the former U.S. Open champion’s 7-6 (6), 6-4 loss to 14th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Trailing 2-0 in the opening set, Raducanu approached the chair umpire in tears. After exchanging a few words, she retreated behind the official’s chair. Following a discussion with the tournament director and security officials, both players returned to their benches.
According to a WTA statement Wednesday, Raducanu was approached “by a man who exhibited fixated behavior” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday … and subsequently ejected.”
The unidentified fan will be banned from all WTA events pending the results of a threat assessment.
Raducanu, now 22, was just a teenager in 2022 when a man in Britain was convicted of stalking her at her home.
In an Instagram story posted Wednesday, Raducanu addressed the most recent incident.
“Thank you for the messages of support,” she wrote. “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.”
Injuries have marred Raducanu’s progress since her breakthrough win at the 2021 U.S. Open, which remains her only singles title to date on the WTA Tour. She is currently ranked No. 61 in the world.
–Field Level Media
