Emma Raducanu: British star to be provided elevated safety by ex-secret service agent at Indian Wells

Emma Raducanu is about to be provided elevated safety by an ex-US secret service agent at Indian Wells following her surprising stalker ordeal in Dubai.

The 22-year-old Briton can be provided as much as 5 additional safety guards if she decides to play at Indian Wells subsequent week after she was the goal of ‘fixated behaviour’ by a person in Dubai.

Raducanu approached the umpire’s chair in tears simply two video games into her second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova on Tuesday earlier than the person in query was subsequently ejected from the court docket by safety and banned from all future WTA occasions “pending a threat assessment”.

Gamers are normally escorted to and from the court docket by at the very least one safety officer, whereas the WTA gives enhanced safety to a participant if she has been the goal of a reputable menace.

The celebrated Californian match, which begins subsequent week stay on Sky Sports activities Tennis, can be making particular preparations to make sure Raducanu’s security and participation.

Safety preparations at Indian Wells are overseen by Bob Campbell, the WTA Tour’s vice-president of safety. He labored as a secret service agent for 20 years in the USA and held a outstanding position throughout Invoice Clinton’s presidency earlier than transitioning to sports activities safety with Main League Baseball.

Former US Open champion Raducanu is predicted to be provided additional safety guards whereas on web site and it’s attainable she is going to accompanied by them off-site as properly. Her administration firm, IMG, have the choice of hiring non-public safety too.

It’s claimed by her childhood coach Roman Kelecic that the person given a restraining order in Dubai had adopted her throughout 4 nations for 3 weeks, additionally attending tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

“This man followed her to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi – where I was with her – again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him,” Kelecic instructed Croatian outlet Internet.

“But initially we thought he was a fan, an admirer, because Emma is a really big tennis star with a huge fanbase. Until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.”

Raducanu has since dropped authorized costs in opposition to the stalker within the United Arab Emirates.

Smith ‘horrified’ at Raducanu incident

Former British No 1 Sam Smith instructed Sky Sports activities Information she expects each the WTA and ATP excursions to step up safety.

“I was horrified. Credit to Emma. You would never know what she had been through with the way she was playing and competing. I don’t know how she did that,” stated Smith.

“Emma had the presence of mind to stop, talk to the umpire. It looked as if the tournament reacted very quickly, so did the WTA and the person was removed very quickly.

“They did all the pieces they may presumably do to verify Emma was as protected as attainable, actually in a bodily sense, however psychologically it was tough for her to proceed and play the match.

“I’ve never experienced it myself but even for a minor incident in the crowd, for example if someone is unwell or there’s a disturbance, it can be hard.

“Tennis gamers are educated to modify on and off however I do not suppose anybody is constructed psychologically to deal with what Emma had to deal with in Dubai, and having to recover from that in future matches.

“The WTA and ATP Tours will double down on looking at their protocols, which worked pretty well, but they absolutely prioritise player safety and wellbeing. They will look at whether they can take it to another level and I think they might have to.”

Overend: Safety paramount – and we’d like empathy for Raducanu

Sky Sports activities Tennis’ commentator Jonathan Overend says the incident highlights safeguarding and safety, the resilience of Raducanu, and the necessity for empathy.

“It was distressing to see, particularly when Raducanu was cowering behind the umpire’s chair, and I think it highlights three things,” he stated.

“First and foremost, the safeguarding and security, which is absolutely paramount, and secondly the resilience of Raducanu to complete the match. I find it remarkable she made the match close. It was an incredible effort.

“I additionally suppose it highlights the necessity for empathy once we are speaking about athletes who sadly must cope with this kind of factor of their private lives.

“With Raducanu, the talk is about, ‘why hasn’t she won another major championship?’ Well, look at scenes like this and the social media abuse.

“We see loads of tennis on the stadium courts with safety on each entrance. That isn’t the fact round tournaments with a number of courts, some very small with only a bench on both facet of the fence.

“It is possible to get very close to individuals, not just in matches but as they manoeuvre around. There is obviously security in place but it always needs to be reassessed and at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

“You may add on the every day social media stalking. The WTA talks about ‘fixated behaviour’ and that’s impactful to those athletes as properly.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, help is available online at sky.com/viewersupport.