Tennis star Emma Raducanu says she will be fine after stalker incident during Dubai match

British tennis star Emma Raducanu said she would be fine as she thanked fans for their support following a "difficult experience" during the Dubai WTA 1000 event where she was targeted by a man displaying "fixated behavior."

The 22-year-old was down 2-0 in the first set of a second-round defeat against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday, Feb. 18, when she approached the umpire, then briefly took refuge behind his chair.

The suspected stalker approached Raducanu in a public area on Monday, Feb. 17, where he exhibited "fixated behavior" before taking a courtside seat during the first few rows for her match the following day.

He was escorted away with Muchova rushing to comfort her before play resumed.

Raducanu, reflecting on the incident in an Instagram story, said Wednesday, Feb. 19: "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," she added. "Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament."

Restraining order

The man who showed "fixated behavior" towards Raducanu has been detained and given a restraining order, police said on Thursday, Feb. 20.

"Following Raducanu’s complaint, Dubai Police detained a tourist who approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behavior that caused her distress," police said in a statement.

"While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments."

The WTA had already said it would ban the man "from all WTA events."