Tenniswoman recognizes her stalker in the audience and bursts into tears in the middle of a match

The scene is a rare one. On Tuesday February 18, while playing in the second round of the Dubai women's tournament, a British tenniswoman broke down when she recognized her stalker in the stands.

Facing Czech Karolina Muchova (ranked 17th in the world) at the WTA 1,000 tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Emma Raducanu broke down on the court, unable to hold back her tears.

She had created a surprise in 2021, when she triumphed at the US Open. Emma Raducanu, 22, had a shocking moment in Dubai in February 2025. Trailing 2-0 in the first set to Karolina Muchova, she suddenly shed a few tears before taking refuge behind the umpire's chair, followed by her opponent, who had come to offer her support.

As reported by the media outlet Demotivateur, the incident followed a series of disturbing events involving a mysterious individual. According to the association that organizes women's professional tennis competitions (WTA), “Emma Raducanu was approached in a public place by a man who displayed obsessive behavior”. This is the same man who was “identified in the front rows at Emma's match on Tuesday”. The organization refers to this as a “security incident”.

The WTA added that this strange and frightening individual “will be banned from all WTA events pending an assessment of his dangerousness”. The WTA also stresses that it's “actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being”, offering its full support to the young tenniswoman.

As far as the tournament is concerned, the match was won by the Czech 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, according to Demotivateur.