2 months ago
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THIS is the moment a man is removed from his front-row seat after tennis ace Emma Raducanu broke down over a “fixated” spectator.
Footage showed the Brit star, 22, cower behind the umpire’s chair and look towards the stands.
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Emma during her second-round match of the Dubai Tennis ChampionshipsGetty Images
Emma was in clear distress during her matchA man is seen being walked out of his front-row seat by a security guard.
It is not known whether this man had anything to do with Raducanu’s emotional response.
A separate clip appears to show Emma walking over to her coaching staff to tell them something is wrong during her second-round match of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
An audience member claimed they heard her team tell her “okay, we will sort it” before they alerted security.
They told The Sun: “All we noticed was that a man was sitting in the front row and he looking towards Emma.
“She was very close to him when serving from that end.
“She then reported it to her team.
“We did hear the team say ‘okay we will sort it’ and there was communication between them and the security.
“I think the day before he had acted in a weird way towards her.
“She appeared very upset and was crying near the umpire’s chair.
“Until he was ejected she could not settle and kept looking over towards him.
“She must have been very frightened given her previous experiences with a stalker.”
The official account of the Government of Dubai Media Office posted on X: “Dubai authorities have taken swift action to address an incident involving British tennis star Emma Raducanu, in accordance with local legal protocols.
“Following Raducanu’s complaint, Dubai Police 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.
“Dubai remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents and visitors to the emirate.”
Emma broke down in tears by the umpire just minutes into the match before hiding behind the high chair and looking over at the stands.
Friends said she was “startled” having seen the man several times before.
It emerged yesterday that he reportedly gave Emma a letter at her hotel the previous day.
And today it was revealed that beefed up security was already in place for the British No. 2.
Efforts were made before her match to identify the man and dedicated security escorted her to and from the court and remained at the court throughout.
It is expected these measures will remain over the coming months.
Fans nonetheless slammed the event’s security, which should have been beefed up following to tennis star Monica Seles getting stabbed by an obsessed spectator at a match in Hamburg in 1993.
One said: “Hope at least after this they take the security seriously, especially in WTA events.”
Emma has previously had a stalking hell.
In 2022 she told how she was “constantly looking over her shoulder” after stalker Amrit Magar, 35, walked 23 miles to her home in South east London.
Magar got a five-year restraining order after stealing her dad’s shoe and leaving her gifts and notes.
After two games, she was seen speaking with the umpire
Raducanu appeared to hide behind the umpire’s chair at one point
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Paul Edwards
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