A man who was exhibiting “fixated behaviour” targeted at British tennis player Emma Raducanu has been given a restraining order, Dubai police say.
During a second-round match at the Dubai Championships against Karolína Muchová on Monday, the 22-year-old became visibly upset after spotting a man sitting in the front rows.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WAT) said the man had previously approached Raducanu in a public area of the venue “exhibiting fixated behaviour”.
On Thursday, Dubai police said they had taken “swift action” following the incident involving the British tennis player.
In a statement on X, Dubai police said they had “detained a tourist who approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behaviour that caused her distress during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships”.
“While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments,” the statement added.
After seeing the man in the crowd, Raducanu approached the umpire wiping away tears, said a few words, and stood behind the officials chair, out of view.
The man was subsequently ejected from the venue and has been banned from all WAT events pending a threat assessment.
After the match Raducanu posted an update on Instagram saying it was a “difficult experience”.
She said: “Thank you for the messages of support. 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.
“Thank you to Karolína for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament,” she added.
She went on to lose the match to Muchová 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
In 2022, Amrit Magar was handed a five-year restraining order by Bromley Magistrates Court, for stalking Raducanu, whilst still a teenager after walking 23 miles to her family home.
Raducanu rose to fame in 2021 after winning the US Open as an 18-year-old unseeded qualifier, one of the the most unlikely achievements in tennis.
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