Tennis Star Emma Raducanu Thanks Fans After Being Brought To Tears By Spectator Who Was Detained For ‘Fixated Behavior’ On Her

2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu was in the middle of a second-round match against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Championships when she approached the chair umpire in tears, appearing to retreat behind the chair.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) issued a statement on Wednesday about the event, which went unexplained at the time.

“On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behavior,” the statement read. “This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”

More updates came on Thursday, when the Dubai authorities confirmed that the man – who reportedly “approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behavior that caused her distress” – had been detained and agreed to a restraining order.

Raducanu, 22, has prior experience with stalking. In February 2022, when she was still a teenager, a man was given a five-year restraining order after appearing at her family’s home on three occasions.

Following the incident, Muchova approached the chair as well to comfort Raducanu. Although clearly distraught, Raducanu was able to come back from being down 0-4 in the match, ultimately losing in a tiebreaker.

“Thank you for the messages of support,” Raducanu posted on Instagram following the match.

“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 Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”