Emma Raducanu handed letter at hotel by ‘stalker’ ejected from Dubai tournament

Emma Raducanu in action against Karolina Muchova in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Photo / Getty Images

Emma Raducanu was handed a letter at her hotel by the same man “who exhibited fixated behaviour” towards her at the Dubai Tennis Championships, security sources believe.

The 2021 US Open champion became distressed, and eventually broke down in tears, after spotting him among spectators in the early stages of her second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova.

Sources based in Dubai have since told The Daily Telegraph that the British No 2 had recognised him as the same suspect who approached at her hotel earlier in the week and handed over a letter.

Minutes into her second-round encounter, Raducanu hid behind the umpire’s chair and looked panicked as the umpire communicated for help, before the man was led away by authorities.

Other sources close to the situation said Raducanu had been startled after seeing the man a number of times previously. During the match, she was able to compose herself to play again after being reassured that action was being taken by security.

“Thank you for the messages of support,” she said in a statement via Instagram. “Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match. Thank you to Karolína for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

Emma Raducanu. Photo / Instagram

The security incident has left authorities at pains to underline that Raducanu and other players will be safe at upcoming tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon, with increased security expected.

Alex Bomberg, a VIP security specialist who runs Intelligent Protection, said: “I’m a resident of Dubai. In Dubai itself, I can tell you now the authorities will be taking this very seriously.”

The identity of the man is unknown at this stage, though the Telegraph understands he is not a UK national.

The WTA declined to comment on the exact circumstances of the situation but confirmed it was working with Raducanu and her team “to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support” and said the man would be banned from all WTA events “pending a threat assessment”.

In 2022, a man who stalked Raducanu while she was still a teenager was given a five-year restraining order after he visited her Bromley home three times following her US Open win.

Bomberg added: “I’ve seen that the WTA have put out a statement, and I know they take player safety very seriously.

“Obviously, Emma’s had issues in the past. I know that she had a case a few years back. This is the sort of thing that is always a big concern. You wonder how, from a security point of view, how people are stopped from entering premises. Apart from using facial recognition technology, the only other way is using people who are ‘super recognisers’ in their security team. People who recognise individuals that are on watch lists and can alert the authorities or alert the security team.

“With this guy, I don’t know if there’s any previous interactions with this individual – he’s obviously turned up at her hotel, but what’s led up to this? We don’t know yet, but it looks like it’s being dealt with seriously.

“It’s always a difficult situation. VIPs get handed cards – they get handed gifts and stuff like that. It’s important for the people that are around them doing their security to be educated on this. Many years ago, the police in the UK used to refer to these individuals as ‘mad, bad or sad’. Now our understanding of fixated people has come a long way but it’s always a big challenge.”

An LTA spokesperson said: “This incident once again highlights issues around safety that all players, but female players in particular, can face. We have support available for British players and have been in contact with Emma and her team following the events in Dubai. We have extensive security arrangements at our events in Britain and keep these under constant review. The tours have strong processes in place already and we will continue to work together along with police and security providers to deal with situations like this robustly.”