EMMA RADUCANU was handed a letter at her hotel by a ‘fixated man’ who she later spotted at her match.
The tennis star was left in tears during her Dubai Open match after seeing the man in the stands.
The man was ejected from the crowd and has received a ban from all WTA events.
In a statement from the WTA, it was revealed that the same man had approached the 22-year-old in a public space the previous day.
He accessed the hotel Raducanu was staying in and handed her a letter.
The man’s identity is unknown but he is understood not to be a UK national.
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Security expert Alex Bomberg, who lives in Dubai, said of the situation: “I’m a resident of Dubai. In Dubai itself, I can tell you know the authorities will be taking this very seriously.”
Raducanu was taking on former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships on one of the event’s outside courts.
After two games she approached the umpire in clear distress, and even appeared to hide behind the official’s chair at one point.
She could then be seen wiping away tears with her towel as the man was ejected, with Muchova going over to comfort her.
The WTA have been in contact with Raducanu and her team following the incident.
They released a statement stating “Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour”.
The organisation confirmed he would be banned from events with “player safety a top priority”.
Bomberg reacted to the statement saying: “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.”
Stalker hell
In January 2022, Raducanu revealed that she had been targeted by a stalker, who stole her dad’s shoe and left bizarre notes and gifts.
Married Amrit Magar, 35, was convicted of stalking at Bromley Magistrates Court.
Raducanu told cops at the time: “Because of this I feel like my freedom has been taken away from me. I am constantly looking over my shoulder.
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