Female tennis stars have revealed their fears surrounding safety and online threats after Emma Raducanu’s distressing courtside incident in Dubai.
Raducanu was visibily upset during her second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova in the Dubai Tennis Championships after spotting a man showing ‘fixated behaviour’ in the crowds.
The individual was subsequently removed from the stands, with it later emerging that the same man had approached her in her hotel the day prior.
The Brit has since posted a short message on Instagram, thanking fans for their support and insisting she will bounce back from the ‘difficult experience’.
However, the incident has once again shone a spotlight on the issues surrounding the safety of top-level sportswomen both at events and online.
Raducanu, herself, has previously been targeted during her career as in 2022, Amrit Magar was convicted of stalking and given a five-year restraining order after walking 23 miles to her home.
A court heard how Raducanu was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and no longer felt ‘safe in her own home’.
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And after the latest incident, several other players have spoken out about their own experiences.
Iga Swiatek, the current World No.2, said she narrowly avoided a scary incident with a fan during an event back in her native Poland.
‘We were able to avoid one incident that might have been scary back in the day when I was hosting my own event in Poland,’ Swiatek recalled.
‘There are fans that are kind of, I don’t know, everywhere. But I’m pretty sure that they don’t have any bad intentions.
‘Obviously we are public persons, so we should always keep our eyes open and be ready to react if we feel uncomfortable. I’m sure it must have been tough for Emma.’
17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, who takes on Swiatek in the quarter-finals in Dubai, said she has previously received graphic threats online after losing matches.
‘After every loss I think every player receives a bunch of hateful messages,’ Andreeva revealed.
‘I remember once when I was young, when I was 14 years old, I was playing one of my first ITF tournaments and I received a message after my loss that said: ‘Look around because I’m going to find you and I’m going to cut your arms’.
‘That was still the one that I remember to this day.’
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