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British Tennis player Emma Raducanu finally opened up on the scary stalking episode that left her jolted in Dubai last month. Raducanu was troubled by a "fixated" spectator during her round 2 encounter at the Dubai Tennis Championships against Karolina Muchova. The usual action of the match came to a halt after a visibly shaken Emma hid behind the umpire's chair until the notorious individual was banished from the stands.
The individual was later released without charge by Dubai police, after signing a document that said he would stay away from her in future.
Emma Raducanu said “I couldn’t see the ball through the tears, I could barely breathe” in her first interview about her frightening stalking ordeal in Dubai a fortnight ago.
“I was obviously very distraught,” said Raducanu, who has extra guards with her during this event but has opted against any off-site provision. “I saw him [in the] first game of the match, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna finish.’
“I was playing Karolina, who’s top 17 in the world or something. I can’t see the ball. And I’m like, ‘I literally need to just take a breather here,’ and then the first four games kind of ran away from me. I was not on the court, to be honest, and I’m not really sure how I regrouped.
“I think that was a pretty good effort for me to carry on playing in that match, in that scenario. I finished the match [which she lost by a narrow 7-6, 6-4 scoreline], and I even had chances in the first set, but, yeah, it was a very emotional time. And after the match, I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.
“It was more because there was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of events. I needed a week off to take a breather and come here and I feel a lot better.”
