The stalker of Emma Raducanu tried to get Wimbledon tickets and was blocked
The man who received a restraining order earlier this year for obsessively following British tennis player Emma Raducanu was caught trying to register for the public ticket lottery for this month’s Wimbledon.
The tournament security system identified the man, who had been flagged in advance, and blocked his attempt to enter the lottery.
Raducanu broke into tears during a match at the Dubai Championship in February after spotting the man in the stands, the same stalker who had followed her at four consecutive tournaments.
The man, who was removed from the court, had previously handed Raducanu, 22, a letter and requested a photo of her at a café the day before.
He received a restraining order from Dubai police, and his name was shared with relevant tennis authorities.
As a reminder, the same man approached Raducanu near the players’ hotel in Dubai the day before her second-round match against Karolina Muchova.
He gave her a letter and photographed her, causing discomfort, especially since she had already noticed him at tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Doha in the weeks prior.
Although Raducanu reported the incident to a staff member, the information was not passed to the WTA or tournament organizers until the following day.
During the match, after spotting him in the crowd during the second game, she hid behind the umpire’s chair and cried.
The man, who displayed obsessive behavior, was removed from the stands and arrested by local police.
After the incident, Raducanu told reporters: “I saw him already in the first game and thought: I don’t know how I will get through this. I simply could not see the ball for all the tears.
I could barely breathe. I told myself I needed a moment to breathe.”
Raducanu gained worldwide fame when she won the US Open at age 18 in 2021.
In an interview with BBC Sport after the Dubai event, she said, “The situation could have been handled better, but lessons were learned.
Since that case, I am definitely more monitored and feel safer.
I am always much more aware and do not do things alone.
I am always with someone and always under supervision.”
This was not the first time Raducanu was a stalking victim.
In 2022, a British man named Amerit Magar was sentenced to a five-year restraining order from Raducanu and required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.
Magar, then 37, walked 37 kilometers from his home in northwest London to Raducanu’s family home in southeast London. He decorated the front garden tree with Christmas lights, left wrapped gifts, placed a handmade map in the mailbox showing his route, left a bouquet with a note stating, “I have nothing else to say except that you deserve love,” and took a sneaker from the family porch as a keepsake.