Emma Raducanu is set to resume her season at the Indian Wells Open this Thursday, nearly skipping the U.S. trip after a chilling stalker episode rocked her world.
The 2021 US Open champ hasn’t played a WTA match since mid-February, when she sobbed courtside during her second-round loss to Karolina Muchova in Dubai. The trouble brewed pre-match when a stranger approached her in public, then reappeared in the stands as the game began.
After two games, a shaken Raducanu approached the chair umpire, retreating behind the official’s seat to dab away tears. The WTA later confirmed a man showing “fixated behaviour” was ejected, and Dubai authorities slapped him with a restraining order and a tournament ban days later. He’d also left her a note, snapped her photo, and acted in ways that rattled her.
Raducanu hunkered down at home with her parents for weeks, wrestling with whether to join the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells. She made a last-second call last Wednesday, jetting to California the next day. “After Dubai, a lot hit me—I needed time,” she said. “But Indian Wells, my favorite event, pulled me back. I couldn’t stay away.”
Beefed-up security tipped the scales for her return, though she flagged a lingering “weak spot” with public info. “Security’s huge,” she told The Athletic. “Player hotels being common knowledge isn’t ideal—anyone can stroll in. It’s a gap, but I manage. I’m hyper-aware now, never solo.”
This isn’t her first stalker scare—post-2021 US Open, a man hit her home with notes and “gifts,” spurring a 2022 restraining order. That left scars; this latest brush has her on edge. “I barely went out,” the world No. 55 shared. “I wasn’t sure I’d be ready—playing unprepared was the last thing I wanted.”
She reflected, “In Dubai, alone in a foreign place, I felt exposed. It’d been simmering for a while—tough to shake.”
