- Raducanu was approached in Dubai by a man she’d seen several times before
- When he then appeared in the crowd during a match, the Brit became tearful
- The man has signed a declaration that he would stay away from Raducanu
In the wake of Emma Raducanu’s terrifying ordeal in Dubai, Marion Bartoli has revealed her own experience of being stalked by a man disguised as a member of the Wimbledon ground staff.
The 2013 champion was 22, the same age as Raducanu, when she found herself being tracked from event to event during the grass-court summer.
‘Someone followed me through the whole grass season,’ the 40-year-old Frenchwoman said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘I played Birmingham and Eastbourne, and that person found a way to get into the grounds behaving like a ball kid and a groundsman. So he found a way to purchase the same kit and get himself into my court.
‘I recognised him in my first-round match and pointed it out straight away to the All England Club to say that he was not a groundsperson, he had been stalking me for three weeks. They got rid of him and put his picture on all the entrances of the All England Club.’
Raducanu was approached in Dubai by a man she had seen several times before. When he appeared in the crowd during her second-round match she became tearful as the man was escorted out. Described as a tourist, the man was detained and signed a declaration that he would stay away from Raducanu, who dropped charges.
Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during her second-round match in Dubai on Tuesday
2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has opened up about her own stalker experience
Raducanu was able to complete her match after the ‘fixated’ man was removed from the crowd
‘I think it’s a bit similar to what Emma has experienced,’ said Bartoli of her own ordeal. ‘It can get that far when you feel a person is so obsessed by you that they even have to find a way to get into your courts.
‘When you’re in that environment, it can feel very, very stressful. And I was very young back then, I was 22 years old as well.
‘I was extremely, extremely proud of Emma for continuing to play and willing to give it a go, and willing to try to fight as much as she could despite the circumstances. But it is very difficult when you get targeted like this.
‘It was very disturbing to see those images (of Raducanu in tears) and very worrying as well.’
