MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Iga Swiatek was given additional safety safety on the Miami Open after being verbally attacked throughout a observe session by a person who had despatched the five-time Grand Slam champion harassing messages by way of social media, BBC Sport reported Wednesday, citing representatives for the participant.
The episode comes just a little greater than a month after a stalker was faraway from a match being performed by 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in Dubai.
Spokespeople for the Miami Open and the WTA Tour wouldn’t verify precisely what occurred with Swiatek on the hard-court match that finishes this weekend.
The No. 2-seeded Swiatek misplaced to wild card Alexandra Eala within the quarterfinals Wednesday.
“Participant security is our high precedence. The WTA works carefully with tournaments and their safety groups on finest practices for worldwide sporting occasions to make sure the protection and well-being of all contributors. There are complete safety protocols in place to guarantee that any incidents are dealt with promptly and successfully,” the WTA mentioned. “The small print of those usually are not one thing we focus on publicly, however we’re steadfast in our dedication to sustaining a protected atmosphere for gamers and everybody attending one in all our occasions.”
The Miami Open issued an announcement saying: “We take the protection and safety of all gamers and match attendees extraordinarily severely. We always consider any potential threats and take each measure to reply appropriately. To make sure the effectiveness of those efforts, we don’t disclose the small print of our safety operations.”
On the Dubai Championships final month, Raducanu mentioned, she may barely breathe and her eyes crammed with tears when a stalker who had approached her earlier within the match was within the stands throughout her match.
Raducanu spoke to the chair umpire, and the person was ejected from the courtroom and later detained by police.
In 2022, an obsessive fan was given a restraining order after going to Raducanu’s house thrice.
