A man has been given a restraining order after approaching Emma Radacanu with “fixated behaviour” before a match in Dubai.
The British tennis star was seen in tears on court against Karolina Muchova as she was forced to cower behind the umpire’s chair while security had the man removed from courtside.
A statement from Dubai Police said: “Following Raducanu’s complaint, Dubai Police detained a tourist who approached her, left her a note, took her photograph and engaged in behaviour that caused her distress.
“While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments.”
Esto pone la carne de gallina.
Emma Raducanu rompe a llorar en el tercer juego del partido y corre a esconderse detrás de la silla del umpire.
No ha trascendido el porqué. Rumores hay muchos, pero debe ser algo preocupante 😓 pic.twitter.com/yJ5mhJDNdV
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) February 18, 2025
Despite being visibly distressed by the incident, Radacanu managed to play and fought hard before she was defeated 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to the 14th seed.
The former US Open champion took to Instragram to thank fans and Muchova for their support after the incident.
“Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be OK and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match,” she posted.
“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) later released a statement insisting player safety is their “top priority”and that Radacanu would get the support she needs following the distressing experience.
“This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face.
“We have support available for British players and have been in contact with Emma and her team following the events in Dubai. We have extensive security arrangements at our events in Britain and keep these under constant review.
“The tours have strong processes in place already and we will continue to work together along with police and security providers to deal with situations like this robustly.”
