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Emma Raducanu has revealed she “couldn’t see the ball through tears” and could “barely breathe” during a stalking ordeal at the Dubai Open last month.
The 22-year-old Briton was left cowering behind the umpire’s chair after receiving repeated unwanted attention from a “fixated” man before and during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova.
Raducanu told reporters: “I was obviously very distraught. I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to finish. I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe.
“I was like, I need to just take a breather here.”
Raducanu disclosed she had previously been approached twice by the man off-court.
The former US Open champion was speaking to media ahead of the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she will she will return to action this week for the first time since the ordeal.
The incident occurred early in the first set of the Muchova match. She regrouped to play on after the man was removed from the arena but lost 7-6 6-4.
She later opted not to press charges but the individual has been banned from future tournaments.
“It was a very emotional time,” Raducanu said. “After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.
“There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and and come here. I feel a lot better.”
Raducanu will face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked three places above her at 52 in the world, in the first round in California. The winner is guaranteed to face third seed Coco Gauff, with the top 32 players all receiving byes through to the second round.
