Iga Swiatek makes feelings known about Emma Raducanu's shocking stalker controversy at Dubai Tennis Championships

Iga Swiatek opened up about Emma Raducanu's controversial incident during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships. The distressing incident left the Brit panicking and in tears.

During the opening set when Muchova led 2-0, Raducanu went over to the chair umpire, and after exchanging a couple of words she went behind the umpire's chair and was seen tearing up and panicking. While it was hard to deduce what caused the distressing situation, a spectator at the match wrote online that another spectator, a tall male, was taken away by the police following the incident.

Later on, the WTA issued a statement online where they stated Emma Raducanu was approached by a male in public, who exhibited 'fixated behavior'.

"WTA statement on the security incident in Dubai: On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behavior. This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected," read WTA's post on X.

They also stated the male in question has been 'banned' from attending the tour's events, ensuring the safety of players.

"He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment. Player safety is our top priority, and tournaments are advised on security best practices for international sporting events," the WTA statement continued.

The WTA also assured they were working with Brit and her team to provide her with the necessary support.

Following her third-round win over Dayana Yastremska, Iga Swiatek discussed the incident with the media and was happy with the WTA's swift decision to ban the male in question.

“I know the WTA banned this person from going on-site anywhere on any tournament. So I guess the reaction was pretty solid,” Swiatek said. “I like that because it's WTA's responsibility to keep us safe, for that environment to be safe for us. I guess with their help it's fine. But, yeah, it's hard probably to avoid these situations before,” she mentioned.

Interestingly, Iga Swiatek also talked about how she, fortunately, escaped a potential stalker but admitted that not all fans have ill intentions.

“We were able to avoid one incident that might have been scary back in the day when I was hosting my own event in Poland. There are fans that are kind of, I don't know, everywhere. But I'm pretty sure that they don't have any bad intentions,” said the 23-year-old.

She then sympathized with Emma Raducanu and stated the importance of remaining vigilant.

“Obviously we are public persons, so we should always keep our eyes open and ready to react if we feel uncomfortable. I'm sure it must have been tough for Emma,” she added.

Raducanu also recently broke her silence on the incident.

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"Difficult experience yesterday" - Emma Raducanu finally breaks her silence on her stalker controversy in Dubai

Emma Raducanu - Source: Getty

Emma Raducanu took to Instagram to break her silence on the controversial incident. She posted a picture of her coffee and Jane Austen's novel Emma and wrote a note detailing her motions about the happenings. She also included a special thank you message to Karolina Muchova, who rushed to the Brit's side when she saw her in tears.

"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. Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament," she wrote on her Instagram story.

Unfortunately, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and many others have been victims of distressing situations, such as the one Emma Raducanu went through, in the past.