British tennis star Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during an emotional reunion with her father at Heathrow Airport following a distressing stalking incident at the Dubai Tennis Championship.
The 22-year-old's homecoming was marked by visible distress as she struggled to contain her emotions upon meeting her father in London, with photos published on social media.
The tearful scenes followed a troubling experience at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, where Raducanu encountered a 'stalker' during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova.
During the match, which ended in a 7-6(6), 6-4 loss to Muchova, Raducanu became visibly distressed after spotting "fixated behaviour" from an individual in the stands who had approached her the previous day.
Emma Raducanu was recently reduced to tears while playing at the Dubai Tennis Championships
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The British player immediately alerted the umpire about the concerning behaviour.
Overwhelmed by the situation, Raducanu burst into tears and sought refuge behind her chair.
The incident significantly impacted the match, though the Briton managed to continue playing despite the unsettling circumstances.
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Emma Raducanu crying in Heathrow airport
— رينفري (@QRenfri) February 21, 2025
Is the Stalking Incident that bad!?
Somebody tells her it's fine, the guy is not a threat anymore!
pic.twitter.com/5HEvbL6Kw6
Roman Kelecic, a member of Raducanu's coaching team, revealed details of the frightening encounter to Croatian portal Net.hr.
"He 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," Kelecic said.
"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."
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Following the incident, the man was removed from the stands and received a ban from all WTA tour-level events.
Raducanu later addressed the situation on social media, expressing gratitude for public support.
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"Thank you for the messages of support," she wrote. "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."
She also thanked her opponent: "Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament."
Emma Raducanu battled valiantly at the Dubai Tennis Championship, despite her terrifying 'stalker' ordeal
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This recent incident follows a previous stalking case from 2022, when a different man who walked 23 miles to Raducanu's London home was issued a five-year restraining order.
The latest stalking episode has highlighted ongoing security concerns for the British tennis player and other athletes on the WTA tour.
