Appearing distressed as she approached the umpire midway through her second-round match at the Dubai Tennis Championships on February 17, Emma Raducanu wiped away some tears, before a man was escorted out of the stadium from his seat by a security guard.
It was later revealed that he’d followed her across the globe, showing up at tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha, as well as Dubai, approaching her at moments the 22-year-old athlete was alone, including giving her a letter at her hotel just a day earlier.
“I was very distraught,” Raducanu later explained. “I saw him first game of the match, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna finish.’ I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe.”
The Women’s Tennis Association confirmed the seriousness of the incident, stating that the man had showed “fixated behaviour” and would be banned from all of its events “pending a threat assessment”.
The incidents came three years after another man, Amrit Magar, was found guilty of stalking the then teenager after he had visited her London home multiple times.
“Because of this, I feel like my freedom has been taken away from me,” Raducanu said at the time. “I don’t feel safe in my own home, which is where I should feel safest.”
While this latest incident with the unnamed man took place in a much more public arena, that doesn’t mean it was any less terrifying. Speaking in general terms about stalking, clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Lisa Warren tells WHO that the repeated attempted approaches become a form of violence in itself.
“Protecting a victim against physical violence alone is inadequate,” Warren says. “There is a great psychological trauma that can come from having someone approach you or even being critical or threatening online. It is the threat of the unknown and not knowing what is going to happen next.”
Dealing with fans has become part of the job today for celebrities, and we’ve probably all made jokes about being obsessed with a star at some point, but there is an appropriate line that shouldn’t be crossed.
“If you are someone who admires or feels an affinity with a certain celebrity, that’s completely normal,” Warren explains. “Stalking comes into play when the degree of thinking someone does about the celebrity goes well beyond the reason they are in public life and then that translates into repeated and unwanted attempts to contact the person.”
While being stalked is an intrusive and frightening experience, and the perpetrator becoming violent is always a risk, Warren explains their actions also damage themselves as huge amounts of time and effort are invested into a relationship that will never happen. Although, early intervention can have an extremely positive impact.
“There is a range of interventions that can be used to help that person return to a functioning life once the fixation is identified,” Warren says. “If you have a friend or family member who exhibits behaviour you think is worrying, report it as help is available.”
Celebrities confronted by stalkers
Drew Barrymore
Just days after Chad Michael Busto rushed at the actress as she spoke on stage in New York in 2023, he was temporarily detained outside her Hamptons home. He was later ordered to wear a tracking device for 60 days. “You know who I am. I need to see you,” he said to her at the event.
Taylor Swift
David Crowe was arrested three times in less than a week in early 2024 after multiple visits to the pop star’s New York apartment. He was later committed to a mental health facility after being found unfit to stand trial. It is believed he had made over 30 visits to the address and was asked to leave about 10 times.
Delta Goodrem
James Joseph Lafferty pleaded guilty to stalking and intimidation in 2020 after he visited the singer’s Sydney home five times in one day to leave her a Valentine’s Day present and sent her 300 love poems. “What am I guilty of? Bringing someone a rose and chocolates?” he said to police upon questioning.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) for support or visit the website.
