Emma Raducanu has returned to London following a distressing experience with a stalker at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships. The 22-year-old appeared visibly shaken as she shared an emotional reunion with her father at the airport.
After defeating Maria Sakkari in the opening round of the WTA 1000 event, Raducanu fell to Karolina Muchova in the second round, displaying signs of distress during the match. She broke down in tears, hid behind the umpire’s chair, and appeared to suffer a panic attack while security escorted a man from the stands.
The WTA later confirmed that the individual had exhibited “fixated behavior” toward Raducanu the day before and announced that he would be banned from all tour-level events to ensure her safety.
Now back in London, Raducanu’s homecoming was far from joyous, as she was seen in tears at Heathrow Airport, visibly emotional after reuniting with her father, Ion.
Emma Raducanu’s coach discloses ‘frightening’ details about her Dubai stalker
Emma Raducanu’s distress is understandable, given revelations from her coaching team member, Roman Kelecic. He disclosed that the man had been following her across multiple tournaments, from the Singapore Open to Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai.
Kelecic also described a disturbing incident at a restaurant in the tennis center, where the man hugged Raducanu “obsessively” and refused to leave her alone, leaving the Brit in a state of “great panic.”
“He (The stalker) approached her, started obsessively hugging her, taking pictures with her, in short, he didn’t leave her alone, and then Emma called me in a great panic for help. This was the only moment during the tournament when none of us from the team was with Emma,” he told Croatian portal Net.hr.
“The most frightening thing about it all is that he was obviously monitoring her movements the whole time and that he had a plan for how and when he would try to get to her,” he added.
After spending time recovering with her family, Emma Raducanu will aim to move past the distressing experience. She is set to return to action at the Indian Wells Open, which begins on March 5.
