Iga Swiatek has been given increased security at the Miami Open after being targeted by a male fan at the WTA 1000 event.
The man yelled personal insults at the 23-year-old tennis star during a practice session. BBC Sport reported that the man had a history of sending abusive messages to Swiatek online before arriving in Miami, where he later attacked her in person,
A spokesperson for Swiatek said: “Security is a top priority…We monitor the network to catch these types of issues. Constructive criticism is one thing, and threats, hate speech or even disturbance during training is another – this cannot be condoned.”
“We reported the matter to the tournament organiser, as well as to the WTA, which reacted immediately and took additional precautions, such as additional security, for which we are very grateful,” the spokesperson added.
The Miami Open spokesman said: “We take the safety and security of all players and tournament attendees extremely seriously… We constantly evaluate any potential threats and take every measure to respond appropriately. To ensure the effectiveness of these efforts, we do not disclose the details of our security operations.”
Stalkers in women’s tennis events
Swiatek was abused after a similar event at last month’s Dubai Tennis Championship, where Britain’s Emma Raducanu was targeted by a male stalker showing “fixated behaviour”. Due to this, the athlete appeared shaken during her second-round defeat against Karolina Muchova. The man was then given a restraining order and prohibited from attending WTA Tour events.
In a social media post shared by a Jamaican radio station, Nationwide 90FM, a netizen commented on this issue and said: “Hope he got banned just like Emma Radecanu’s stalker.”
Iga Swiatek was recently defeated 6-2, 7-5 by young athlete Alexandra Eala in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.