Mike Frey-Imagn Images
One of the downsides of being a professional athlete is the risk of attracting the attention of unhinged fans—an issue that disproportionately affects women who’ve made a name for themselves in that space. That unfortunately includes Emma Raducanu, who was at the center of an unnerving incident that unfolded during a tennis match in Dubai on Tuesday.
In a perfect world, pro athletes would be able to go through life without having to worry about being harassed by total strangers, but there’s only so much they can do to avoid encountering people who firmly cross the line when it comes to interacting with them.
There’s been plenty of attention paid to the dark side of parasocial relationships in recent years, and while that buzzword may be a relatively new entry to the general lexicon, the same can’t be said for some of the troubling behaviors all too frequently exhibited by people who become obsessed with famous personalities.
Women are statistically more likely to be stalked than men, and that reality has sadly been manifested by the many high-profile cases involving female celebrities who’ve attracted the attention of disturbed individuals with a tendency to go to great lengths in an attempt to get their attention.
That includes many notable female athletes. Two different men were arrested for stalking Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark in the past year, and another was escorted from the stands due to what transpired Emma Raducanu was facing off against Karolina Muchova in a match at the WTA 1,000 Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai on Tuesday.
According to The Athletic, Raducanu was trailing 2-0 in the first set when she approached the umpire’s chair in a visibly distressed state shortly before a spectator she pointed out was removed from the premises.
Emma Raducanu’s fright when she realizes that a man who had approached her the day before in a public place in Dubai was attending her match against Muchova.
The man was fortunately arrested and banned from all WTA events.pic.twitter.com/63jdBNQb8V
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) February 19, 2025
The WTA subsequently released a statement providing more insight into the situation, saying the 22-year-old had been approached by the same man on Monday who “exhibited fixated behavior” during the interaction and was understandably rattled when she saw him sitting just a few rows back from the court.
The organization added the unidentified stalker has been “banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment” and is working with Raducanu to “ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support”; the match eventually resumed, and while Raducanu mounted a first-set comeback, Muchova earned the victory with a 7-6, 6-4 result.
This isn’t the first time Raducanu has had to deal with a similarly scary situation, as a man who repeatedly showed up at her home in London was hit with a five-year restraining order and sentenced to 200 hours of community service in 2022.