Tennis star Emma Raducanu has shared that she feels cautious and “wary” whenever she goes out in public, following a distressing stalking incident she experienced earlier this year.
During a match against Karolina Muchova in Dubai in February, the 22-year-old British player was visibly upset and hid behind the umpire`s chair, crying, after noticing a man she described as “fixated” on her. She later commented that the tears made it impossible for her to see the ball.
In an interview with the BBC, Raducanu stated that this period was made even more challenging because she did not have a full-time coach at the time. While she now feels more content with her coaching team, Mark Petchey and Nick Cavaday, the unsettling feeling off the court persists.
She observed, “I`ve definitely noticed a difference in how people are watching my back when I`m on the site [at tournaments].”
“I`m obviously wary when I go out,” she added. “I try not to be careless about it because you only realise how much of a problem it is when you`re in that situation and I don`t necessarily want to be in that situation again.”
“But off the court right now, I feel good. I feel pretty settled. I feel like I have good people around me and anything that was kind of negative I`m just like trying to brush it off as much as I can,” she commented on her current state.
Raducanu also discussed the difficulty of dealing with negative headlines and comments on social media, particularly during times of injury and her dip in performance since her remarkable US Open victory in 2021.
She admitted, “When you see those negative headlines, especially, it is really hard. I`m someone who cares what people think and what people say. So it is not easy for me to deal with.”
Following her second-round exit at the French Open against Iga Swiatek, Raducanu is scheduled to compete in the inaugural women`s Queen`s Club Championships this week, in preparation for Wimbledon.
