Raducanu left in tears as fixated fan ejected in Dubai

Emma Raducanu has thanked her fans for their messages of support after the “difficult experience” of being approached by a man who displayed “fixated behaviour” ahead of her match against Karolina Muchova in Dubai.

- JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

In a post on Instagram, Raducanu said she was “proud” of how she reacted after the individual was ejected from the stadium by security, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) saying he is banned from all future events pending an investigation.

The man reportedly handed Raducanu a letter the day before her match with Muchova before he was then spotted in the first few rows of the crowd.

Raducanu was left in tears during the first set and was seen waiting behind the umpire's chair as help was organised, but the 22-year-old continued the match and showed impressive resilience despite going on to lose 7-6 6-4 to the 14th seed Muchova.

“Thank you for the messages of support,” Raducanu said on Instagram. “Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match.”