Raducanu speaks out after stalker tried to buy Wimbledon tickets

Emma Raducanu has thanked Wimbledon for doing ‘an amazing job’ in ensuring her stalker could not acquire tickets for the Championships.

The man, whose pursuit of Raducanu across four countries came to a head in Dubai in February, was on a waiting list for Wimbledon tickets until his name was removed by the All England Club.

‘Wimbledon and everyone did an amazing job. I got a notification, the police contacted me and told me everything was OK,’ Raducanu told BBC Sport.

‘I know that I am not the first athlete to go through this, and I probably won’t be the last — not just as an athlete, but females in general.

‘I have a lot more protection around me — especially the ones here in the UK, where it’s busy and there’s more spectators around.

‘I feel a difference, and that reassures me and makes me feel more comfortable.’

With Wimbledon less than a week away, Raducanu is still contending with pain from a back spasm she suffered in Strasbourg in May.

‘It’s OK, I’m still managing it, to be honest,’ said the British No 1 in Eastbourne, where she will play her first-round match against American Ann Li on Tuesday. 

‘I have good days and bad days with it. I trained a fair bit last week in London and it was good. I was getting a lot of treatment and then woke up pretty stiff at the weekend, took a day off and then trained yesterday and today.

‘But it needs a lot of work and it is up and down. I’m just trying to manage it as best as I can.’

Raducanu overcame a fear of needles to have acupuncture treatment at the French Open. She is trying that and anything else she and her team can think of to quieten the pain in time for Wimbledon.

‘Doing everything: needles, soft tissue, some muscle stimulation stuff, taping, everything,’ she said. ‘It’s just ongoing but it seems to be OK today.’

In a year when her fitness record has generally been excellent, this nagging back issue has now reared its head before each of the three Grand Slams.

Raducanu seemed in good spirits by the seaside, however, especially when discussing her new doubles partner. The US Open last week announced the pairings for their revamped, $1million mixed doubles event in August and among the more eye-catching alliances was Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz.

‘He messaged me and asked me to play, I was very surprised — and excited,’ said Raducanu, speaking for the first time since the pairing was announced.

‘I’ve known him so long. He’s so nice, very happy, amazing values and just a really positive light to be around.

‘Wimbledon 2021 was the first time I started getting to know him,’ said Raducanu. ‘He was always playing the day before me, I would see him win and then I would have motivation to win and get myself into that position too. It was really cool to go through that tournament together and then we stayed in touch the whole US Open. He’s obviously overtaken me a lot, but it’s nice that we have that from a while ago.’