Emma Radukanu never missed her favorite tournament, even after the disastrous experience of fans showing “fixed behavior” against her during the Dubai Tennis Championship last month.
Radukanu, 22, competed at the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open, which began earlier this week, and told reporters on Tuesday that she was in California.
“There was obviously a lot of stuff going on after Dubai, so I just had to take the time after that. I think the appeal of the Indian Wells is my favorite tournament. I couldn't really leave that,” Radkanu told reporters.
The 2021 US Open Champion had an innards last month, finding a creepy fan in the stands of a second round match against Karolina Mankova in Dubai, hiding behind the referee's chair before security guards removed the man in question.
Radukanu told reporters Tuesday that the February incident left her “very distraught” and that she had said at the moment that she “don't know how I'm going to end.”
“I literally couldn't see the ball through my tears, I could barely breathe,” she continued. “I was playing Karolina. Karolina seems like the top 17 in the world or something, and I can't see the ball. And then, to be honest, I wasn't on the court, so the first four games ran away from me. I really don't know how they reorganized.”
It wasn't her first brush with avid fans during her career. This included the scary stalking incident in 2022.
However, Radukanu insisted that she would not be in the way of her passion for tennis.
“There are some of you who think, 'Mid-aged creep won't let me stop doing what I want to do,'” she said.
The British tennis star has stepped up security with her at Indian Wells.
While she was talking to media members, Athletic pointed out She had two security guards standing close to her, and that they were with her through her run in the tournament.
She also has other security when she is not participating in the tournament.
However, she admitted that her daily life was affected after the Dubai incident.
“I wasn't out much,” she said. “I didn't know if I was ready or not. The last thing I wanted to do was play if I wasn't ready,” Radkanu said.
She added that the support she received from her fans was “great.”
