March 5 (UPI) -- Emma Raducanu spoke publicly for the first time about being followed by a fixated fan, telling reporters that she could barely see the ball during a tennis match after spotting the "middle-aged creep" in Dubai.
Raducanu made the comments to a group of reporters Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., her first tournament since the Feb. 18 Dubai Tennis Championships incident.
"I'm here because I feel a lot better now," Raducanu said. "A lot happened obviously after Dubai, so I just needed to kind of take my time after.
"I think the allure of Indian Wells being my favorite tournament, I just couldn't really step away from it."
Related
Raducanu also was targeted by a stalker, who traveled to her home, in 2021. That man was charged in 2022.
The 22-year-old British tennis star was first approached by the man in Dubai on Feb. 17. She spotted the same man in the first few rows of seats during a Round of 16 match against Karolina Muchova the next day at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Raducanu, who lost the match 7-6 (8), 6-4, was brought to tears early on in the match after spotting the man. She briefly stood behind the umpire's chair as security removed the man from the stadium. Play eventually resumed, but Raducanu was obviously rattled.
"I literally couldn't see the ball through the tears, I could barely breathe," Raducanu said. "I was playing Karolina, who's like top 17 in the world or something, and I can't see the ball. Then the first four games kind of ran away from me because I was not on the court, to be honest.
"I'm not really sure how I regrouped."
The WTA later said the man "who exhibited fixated behavior" was ejected and "banned from all WTA events," pending a threat assessment.
Dubai Police went on to detain the man, but said Raducanu chose to drop charges against him.
The 2021 U.S. Open women's singles champion said she decided last Wednesday to compete at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"There's a part of you that thinks, 'I'm not gonna let a middle-aged creep stop me doing what I love to do,'" Raducanu said.
Raducanu, the No. 55 player in the WTA singles rankings, will take on No. 52 Moyuka Uchijima of Japan in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday in Indian Wells.
