Emma Raducanu says stalker ordeal ‘could have been dealt with better’

Emma Raducanu feels her ordeal with a stalker could have been dealt with better by tennis authorities and is now wary of being on her own.

The 22-year-old Briton was left cowering behind the umpire’s chair in tears after receiving repeated unwanted attention from a “fixated” man before and during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova in Dubai last month.

An emotional Raducanu flew home and considered taking a longer break before opting to return to the tour at this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The former US Open champion is receiving extra security in California after the man was able to approach Raducanu twice while she was alone.

She told BBC Sport she is happy with the level of protection she is now receiving, saying: “(It) could have been dealt with better. Since that incident I have definitely got increased attention and greater security.

“All we can do is look at what happened and react to it in a better way, in a more positive way, rather than looking back and blaming the situation. Now it is being dealt with better, so for me that’s important.

“I’m always now very aware and not necessarily doing things on my own any more. I’m always with someone and always being watched.”

Her childhood coach Roman Kelecic, who was with her in the Emirates, told a Croatian website that the man had followed Raducanu across four tournaments and had tried to hug her.

She became visibly distressed early in her clash with Muchova after spotting him in the stands.

Speaking to British reporters in Indian Wells, Raducanu said: “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 regrouped to play on after the man was removed from the arena but lost 7-6 6-4.

“It was a very emotional time,” added Raducanu. “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.”

It is not the first time Raducanu has been targeted by a stalker, with an obsessive fan given a restraining order in 2022 after coming to her house three times.

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.