EMMA RADUCANU spotted her stalker just two points into Tuesday night’s match in Dubai, her former coach claims.
The British tennis star, 22, burst into tears and hid behind the umpire’s chair as the “fixated man” was removed by security.
YouTubeEmma Raducanu was in years during Tuesday’s match[/caption]
YoutubeThe British tennis star, 22, hid behind the umpire’s chair[/caption]
SuppliedFootage from the crowd showed the man being led out[/caption]
The individual was arrested by Dubai police, although charges were later dropped after he went on to “sign a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments”.
Raducanu’s former coach Roman Kelecic, who has worked with her on a temporary basis, has has claimed that the man stalked her in Singapore, the UAE and Qatar over the past month.
On Tuesday night’s incident, he told Croatian outlet Net: “Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker. Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.
“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘here he is, here he is, here he is’.”
Raducanu had been approached by the man, who left her a note and took her photograph, in a restaurant on Monday.
On the incident, Kelecic added: “That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach, the security guard who was with us, was not with her.
“So, that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her.
“He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.
“It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.”
Raducanu’s stalker got “physically close” to her as he posed for selfies on Monday.
Kelecic revealed: “So, it’s a creepy story.
“This man followed her back to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi where I was with her, again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him.
“But initially we thought he was a fan, an admirer, because Emma is a really big tennis star with a huge fan base.
“Until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.”
On Wednesday, Raducanu posted a statement on her Instagram account.
It read: “Thank you for the messages of support.
“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.
“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”
Instagram / @emmaraducanuRaducanu posted a short statement on Instagram[/caption]
GettyThe former U.S. Open champion was in second round action in Dubai[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
