Emma Raducanu opens up about 'fixated' man in Dubai crowd at the BNP Paribas Open

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Emma Raducanu says she "couldn't see the ball through tears" and struggled to breathe after spotting a man who was "fixated" on her during a match in last month's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The man, who had already approached Raducanu earlier in the tournament, was ejected from the arena after she spoke to the chair umpire during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova. He was later detained by Dubai police, and signed a document pledging to "maintain distance" from Raducanu. The WTA said he had "exhibited fixated behavior."

"I was obviously very distraught," Raducanu told British reporters at the BNP Paribas Open, her first tournament since the incident. "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, still falling to Muchova 7-6(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."

She tells the BBC that while the incident could have been dealt with better, security improvements have since been made.

"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," she said.

Read more: Emma Raducanu thanks fans after Dubai incident, Iga Swiatek says WTA must protect players

This isn't Raducanu's first incident with an obsessive fan. In 2022, she issued a restraining order to 35-year-old Amrit Magar for his continuous interest in her private life. He involved himself by sending envelopes to her address, stealing her shoe as 'souvenir', and gifting flower bouquets reading "nothing to say, but you deserve love."

Raducanu will face Japan's Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked three places above her at 52nd in the world, in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California on Thursday. The winner is guaranteed to face No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, as the top 32 players received byes into the second round.