The stalker nightmare for the British tennis player Emma Raducanu, already victims in the past of the morbid attention of some fans and victims in these days in Dubai of another disturbing story, is back.
During the WTA 1000 tournament in progress in the city of the Emirates The 22 -year -old was targeted by “a man who showed obsessive behavior” against him, approaching her last Monday in a public area and then presenting himself in the first rows between the audience during yesterday’s match with the Czech Karolina Muchova. His presence agitated the young woman, who in the third game of the first set approached the chair judge, indicated someone among the public and broke out crying, heartened by both Muchova and referee. Shortly thereafter, the character was removed and WTA announced that he will be “banned from all events awaiting an evaluation of the threat”. Winning the agitation, the British then continued to play but finally lost the game, with a score of 7-6, 6-4.
It is not the first time that Raducanu has been struggling with a stalker: it had already happened in 2022 when, a few months after his success at the US Open 2021, a boy, who said he was fully in love with her, had struck her and He had even introduced himself to his home in London by removing objects. Towards the manager, the judges issued a five -year restrictive order. “The security of players is our maximum priority and tournaments are directed to the best security practices for international sporting events – said WTA in a widespread note today in which it explained the incident – WTA is working with Emma and his own Team to ensure its well -being and provide all the necessary support. We are busy collaborating with tournaments and their teams around the world to maintain a safe environment for all players ». The phenomenon of stalking against tennis players is unfortunately constant, as confirmed months ago in an interview another British, Katie Boulter, companion of the Australian Alex de Minaur. Peatures, messages, social threats and unsolicited attentions are common, explained Boulter speaking of his experience, but there were much more serious episodes. In 1993, Monica Seles was stabbed during a game of the Hamburg tournament by a man who explained that he was a fan of Steffi Graf, then a big rival of Jusoslava and often often the victim of Stalker.