DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Concern over a person who’d exhibited “fixated behaviour” induced Emma Raducanu to strategy the chair umpire in tears and take an unscheduled break in her second-round match on the Dubai Championships, the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation mentioned Wednesday.
There’d been no rapid clarification Tuesday when the 2021 U.S. Open champion walked to the umpire after the second sport, mentioned just a few phrases after which stood in a small area between the again of the official’s chair and barrier netting adjoining to Courtroom 2.
Raducanu, who was nonetheless a young person in 2022 when a person in Britain was convicted of stalking her at her household dwelling the earlier yr, returned to play after a quick delay at 2-0 down and finally misplaced 7-6 (6), 6-4 to 14th-seeded Karolina Muchova.
On Wednesday, the WTA issued a press release explaining that Raducanu was approached in a public area Monday “by a person who exhibited fixated behaviour” and “this similar particular person was recognized within the first few rows throughout Emma’s match on Tuesday … and subsequently ejected.”
“He shall be banned from all WTA occasions pending a menace evaluation.”
The chair umpire referred to as match organizers instantly when Raducanu reported her issues within the first set of the evening match, and Muchova walked over to console the 22-year-old British participant.
Raducanu then picked up a towel, wiped her face, nodded and continued the match. She did not instantly touch upon the incident.
The WTA mentioned it was working with Raducanu and her workforce “to make sure her well-being and supply any essential assist.”
Raducanu rose to fame in 2021 by successful the U.S. Open as a qualifier, one of many essentially the most unlikely achievements in tennis. She hasn’t superior previous the third spherical at a significant since then and has spent lengthy stints recovering from accidents.
