Liam Grace
Published December 2, 2025 12:42pm
Updated December 2, 2025 12:42pm
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Emma Raducanu’s stalker was handed a restraining order by police in Dubai (Picture: Getty)
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has slammed ‘creepy’ photographers after she was targeted by a terrifying stalker earlier this year.
The 23-year-old was left in tears during a match at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February after spotting a man who ‘exhibited fixated behaviour’ in the crowd.
It later emerged the man had followed Raducanu to four successive tournaments, with the individual handed a restraining order by Dubai police, although that didn’t stop him from trying to buy Wimbledon tickets.
The day before Raducanu saw him in the crowd in Dubai, the man gave the 2021 US Open winner a letter and asked for a photograph in a coffee shop.
Roman Kelecic, Raducanu’s temporary coach at the time, said: ‘Initially we thought he was a fan… until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging… It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it.’
Speaking to reporters at the National Tennis Centre, where she has been commencing her pre-season training, Raducanu now says she no longer feels she is ‘hiding from anything’ and has ‘got over’ the Dubai incident.
Raducanu has, however, admitted to becoming unnerved by ‘creepy’ paparazzi taking pictures of her without her knowing.
Emma Raducanu is currently preparing for the 2026 tennis season (Picture: Getty)
‘What did creep me out was I saw a photo of myself in London, and I didn’t see the paparazzi [photographers] taking it,’ Raducanu said.
‘I was with my two best friends. I just didn’t see the ‘paps’. That’s obviously creepy, when you’re like: I didn’t see them – how did they take this photo?
‘But other than that, I feel good because someone’s always watching my back.’
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Emma Raducanu is becoming more comfortable being spotted in public (Picture: Getty)
Raducanu is becoming more comfortable being spotted in public following the stalking incident in Dubai.
‘In rush hour, people are so locked in to their world,’ she added. ‘They’re not really paying attention and probably not expecting to see me either.
‘I have my hood up, or whatever, but they’re just so focused and absorbed in their own world.
‘It’s all so crazy. It’s like everyone’s on a mission. You have to get the elbows out, just to get through.
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‘If people recognise me, if people see me, and they want to come up to me, then that’s great, but I don’t necessarily feel like I’m hiding from anything any more.’
Raducanu increased her security team after being targeted by the stalker in Dubai.
Speaking about the incident in March, Raducanu said: ‘I was obviously very distraught.
‘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.’
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