The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) confirmed that it had imposed a ban on a man who showed signs of “fixated behaviour” towards British No. 2 athlete Emma Raducanu. This followed an incident during the Briton’s match at the Dubai Championships on February 18, when the man was escorted off the premises by security personnel.
Following the incident, the WTA stated on Feb 19: “On Monday, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour… 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.”
The organisation added: “The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support… We remain committed to collaborating with tournaments and their security teams worldwide to maintain a safe environment for all players.”
Raducanu, the former US Open champion, seemed to be in tears as she walked towards the umpire’s chair during the first set of her second-round match against Karoline Muchova. The match was momentarily paused after Raducanu had a conversation with the umpire, who reached out to tournament officials. The 22-year-old athlete remained behind the umpire’s chair while the spectator was escorted off the court.
When the match resumed, Raducanu made a strong comeback, recovering from a 4-0 deficit to push the set into a tiebreak. However, she eventually lost the match with a final scoreline of 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.