Tennis sensation Emma Raducanu burst into tears during the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships after spotting a man who was later detained for exhibiting ‘fixated behaviour’ earlier this week. Fresh details have now emerged about the incident.

Raducanu burst onto the tennis scene in 2021, first by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon as a wildcard in the competition before, later that year, competing in the US Open. Raducanu did not drop a single set in the entire tournament, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final at just 18 years old.

Raducanu has not since won another major title, but in the years since her triumph, she has struggled massively with injuries, particularly in 2022 and 2023. In the Billie Jean King Cup finals last November, the tennis star made her return to competitive action, losing to Slovakia as part of Great Britain in their last four match against each other. Raducanu, last year, was still one of the highest-paid female athletes on the planet despite recent injury problems.

The 22-year-old was competing in the Australian Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships, beating Maria Sakkari in the latter to reach the second round, where the worrying incident occurred.

‘Fixated’ Man Taken From Raducanu Match

He has allegedly followed her to multiple events

Raducanu was in the midst of her second round clash at the Dubai Tennis Championships where, after two points had been played out, the Toronto-born Brit hid behind the umpire’s chair, visibly upset, as a man was removed from the crowd by security. Charges were apparently dropped after he agreed to maintain his distance from the tennis star.

Roman Kelecic, a former coach of Raducanu, has claimed that the man who was arrested had followed Raducanu to Singapore, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Dubai. Speaking to Croatian outlet Net, via The Sun, he stated: “Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker. Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.

“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something.

He added: “That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach (or) the security guard who was with us, was not with her. So, that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.

“It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.”

Kelecic further revealed that many initially thought the man was simply a big fan of Raducanu’s, given the impact she has made on the sport and how many people know of her accomplishments. Raducanu has since thanked her opponent, Karolina Muchova, and will now look ahead to further tournaments with the hope being that the restraining order issued will be enough to keep him away from her.