Emma Raducanu’s accused stalker prevented from buying Wimbledon tickets

The man accused of stalking British tennis player Emma Raducanu tried to obtain tickets to Wimbledon but was blocked by the All England Club’s security system.

The BBC and others reported that the man tried to apply for tickets through the public ballot for the grand slam tournament that starts June 30. His name had been red-flagged.

At the Dubai Championships in February, the man exhibited “fixated behavior” toward the 22-year-old Raducanu, who became distressed during a match when she noticed him in the crowd.

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A day earlier, he had left her a letter and took her photograph, which unnerved the 2021 US Open champion.

After seeing the man in the stands, Raducanu took shelter behind the umpire’s chair during her second-round match against Karolína Muchová.

Raducanu later said she “couldn’t see the ball through tears” and struggled to breathe before approaching the umpire.

The man was ejected from the tournament. He was later detained by Dubai police and signed a document pledging to “maintain distance” from Raducanu, who is ranked No. 36 in the world.

“I was obviously very distraught,” Raducanu told reporters in March.

“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. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather’.”

Emma Raducanu disappeared behind the umpire’s chair just two games into the match. Credit: WTA

Raducanu said she had previously been approached twice off the court in Dubai by the man, who was also present during her matches in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha in preceding weeks.

She decided to drop the charges against the man who had been detained by Dubai Police. He was later banned from all WTA tournaments.

“It was a very emotional time,” added Raducanu, who took a week off at the time before returning to the tour.

“After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost. There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here.

“I feel a lot better.”

- With CNN