Emma Raducanu ‘couldn’t see the ball through tears’ and ‘could barely breathe’ during Dubai incident involving ‘fixated’ man.
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has spoken about the emotional toll of noticing what the WTA called a “fixated” man during one of her recent matches in Dubai, explaining how she “couldn’t see the ball through tears.”
Raducanu was playing in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships when the incident occurred early on in her match againThe Dubai government later said that the individual in question signed a formal restraining order and had been banned from future tournaments.
“I was obviously very distraught,” Raducanu told reporters on Tuesday, per Reuters. “I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish.’
“I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather.’st Czech Republic’s Karolína Muchová, causing her to become visibly distressed and hide behind the umpire’s chair.
Raducanu managed to recover and take the first set against Muchová to a tie-break, but ultimately lost in straight sets. Two weeks on, she is now in California to play at Indian Wells, which will be her first appearance since the ordeal.
“It was a very emotional time,” said Raducanu, who was speaking to reporters for the first time about the incident. “After the match, I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.
“There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here. I feel a lot better
