'I could barely breathe': Emma Raducanu on stalking ordeal at Dubai Open

Emma Raducanu has revealed she “could barely breathe” during a stalking ordeal at the Dubai Open last month.

The 22-year-old British tennis star received unwanted attention from a “fixated” man before and during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova, leaving her cowering behind the umpire’s chair.

“I was obviously very distraught,” she told reporters ahead of the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

“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 disclosed she had previously been approached twice by the man off-court.

She will return to action this week for the first time since the stalking incident.

The incident occurred early in the first set of the Muchova match. She regrouped to play on after the man was removed from the arena but lost 7-6 6-4.

The 22-year-old British star said she “struggled to breathe” during the ordeal. / Credit: PA

After the match, Raducanu posted an update on Instagram saying it was a “difficult experience”.

She later opted not to press charges, but the individual has been banned from future tournaments.

“It was a very emotional time,” Raducanu said. “After the match, I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.

“There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and and come here. I feel a lot better.”

Raducanu will face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked three places above her at 52 in the world, in the first round in California.

The winner is guaranteed to face third seed Coco Gauff, with the top 32 players all receiving byes through to the second round.

In 2022, Amrit Magar was handed a five-year restraining order by Bromley Magistrates Court for stalking Raducanu, while 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 most unlikely achievements in tennis.