CNN
 — 

British tennis star Emma Raducanu has spoken about the emotional toll of noticing what the WTA called a “fixated” man during one of her recent matches in Dubai, explaining how she “couldn’t see the ball through tears.”

Raducanu was playing in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships when the incident occurred early on in her match against Czech Republic’s Karolína Muchová, causing her to become visibly distressed and hide behind the umpire’s chair.

The Dubai government later said that the individual in question signed a formal restraining order and had been banned from future tournaments.

“I was obviously very distraught,” Raducanu told reporters on Tuesday, per Reuters. “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.’”

Raducanu managed to recover and take the first set against Muchová to a tie-break, but ultimately lost in straight sets. Two weeks on, she is now in California to play at Indian Wells, which will be her first appearance since the ordeal.

“It was a very emotional time,” said Raducanu, who was speaking to reporters for the first time about the incident. “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 come here. I feel a lot better.”

The world No. 55 added that the same individual had been at her previous tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha before appearing in Dubai.

Raducanu told BBC Sport that the incident “could have been dealt with better,” adding that she has now taken precautions to prevent similar situations from arising.

“Since that incident, I have definitely got increased attention and greater security,” she told the BBC. “All we can do is look at what happened and react to it in a better way, in a more positive way, rather than looking back and blaming the situation.

“Now, it is being dealt with better, so for me that’s important. 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.”

CNN has contacted the Dubai Tennis Championships and the WTA for comment.

The WTA, the governing body of women’s tennis, said that the man had approached Raducanu in a public area at the Dubai Tennis Championships and displayed “fixated behavior.”

In her first match since the incident, Raducanu will face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in Indian Wells on Thursday. She could then face American third seed Coco Gauff, a fellow former US Open champion, in the second round.

“I’m very happy to be in Indian Wells, it’s my favorite tournament outside of the slams,” the 22-year-old said. “Being here, I feel a lot better. I wasn’t necessarily sure if I was going to come and compete so soon after what happened in Dubai, but I’m glad I made the decision to come here and I’m loving being here. I’m happy on the court.”