I'll be OK, says Raducanu after 'fixated' man ejected from Dubai tennis tournament

Emma Raducanu has insisted: "I'll be OK" after the behaviour of a male spectator caused the British tennis star to pause a match in tears and raised again the issue of security for female athletes.

- Paul MacInnes

The 22-year-old spoke of the "difficult experience" she endured during her Dubai Tennis Championships match against Karolína Muchová on Tuesday night, when she was forced to alert officials mid-match to the presence of an individual in the stands who had accosted her earlier in the tournament.

The British No 2 had looked uncomfortable in losing the first two games in her match against the world No 17, and before the third game approached the umpire's chair in tears.

Following a discussion with the tournament director, security officials ejected the spectator before the match resumed. Raducanu slipped 4-0 behind before battling back to send the first set into a tie-break but eventually fell to a 7-6(6), 6-4 defeat.

The man who had earlier exhibited "fixated behaviour" towards Raducanu, in the words of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), will be banned from all future WTA events, pending a "threat assessment".

"Thank you for the messages of support," Raducanu posted on Instagram. "Difficult experience yesterday but I'll be OK and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match. Thank you to Karolína for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament."