Emma Raducanu was stalked across four countries for at least three weeks in a “calculating” and “terrifying” campaign of harassment, one of her former coaches had claimed.
A man arrested in Dubai on Tuesday had followed her to every tournament since the Australian Open, according to Roman Kelecic, who is based in the city.
Kelecic, who was seen working with Raducanu in Abu Dhabi recently and also coached her as a junior, told Croatian outlet Net the man had spotted at her last four tournaments.
“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 said.
“But, initially, we thought he was a fan, an admirer, because Emma is a really big tennis star with a huge fan base. Until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.”
Kelecic was said to have told Net that the man had approached Raducanu on Monday in a restaurant that was part of the tennis centre where the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships were taking place.
“That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach, the security guard who was with us, was not with her at that moment,” he added.
“So, that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying. He thought everything through, calculated it.
“It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.
“That evening, we reported it immediately and again in the morning, when she was playing the match, because her safety is the most important thing to us.”
That match was her second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova on Tuesday evening, minutes into which a panicked Raducanu broke down in tears after spotting the man in the first few rows.
“Three or four hours before the match, we have a photo of that stalker,” Kelecic said. “Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.
“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment, we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘Here he is, here he is, here he is’.”
It emerged on Thursday that Raducanu had dropped charges against her suspected stalker after he signed a form promising to distance himself from the British tennis player.
Dubai authorities confirmed the man had taken her photograph as well as leaving her a note before he was ejected from the WTA 1000 tournament there and arrested.
A representative for Raducanu has been approached for comment.
