Karolina Muchova on Raducanu’s harrowing encounter with stalker: "You don’t want this to happen to anyone"

Karolina Muchova shared her thoughts after the shocking moment when Emma Raducanu spotted the man who had been stalking her and approached the chair umpire to report it, bursting into tears. The 2021 US Open champion even stood behind the umpire’s chair until the spectator was removed from the court.

The incident occurred during the first set of the match between Muchova and Raducanu, two high-profile names on tour battling for a spot in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarterfinals. The Czech player claimed victory 7-6(8), 6-4, but the unsettling moment overshadowed the match.

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The 28-year-old Czech, who was on the other side of the net preparing to serve when it happened, recently shared her reaction. "Yeah, it was a strange situation," she said. "I honestly was just getting ready to serve. I didn’t even realise something was happening. Then I saw she wasn’t on the other side, so I went to check with the referee what was going on. She told me what had happened."

"Obviously, you don’t want to see these things happening to anyone—to any woman, any girl. So I was just trying to be there, maybe calm her down a little bit," added the former French Open finalist. "I’m happy they solved it pretty fast. I think she was fine after a while. Then we just kept going with the match."

Karolina Muchova at 2025 Linz Open

Muchova, who reached the Dubai semifinals on Thursday after defeating Sorana Cîrstea, mentioned she has never experienced a similar situation. "I’m lucky to usually have nice fans around me," she said. "I’ve never been in that situation. Again, I felt sorry for her and for anyone who has to go through this."

"Obviously, people text us after matches all the time—sometimes not the nicest messages. But I’ve never had someone actually approach me in person. Yeah, I guess I’m lucky that it hasn’t happened to me," she concldued.

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The former world No. 8 is set to contest the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday against Denmark's Clara Tauson. She will be looking for her third WTA 1000 final, after losing at the 2023 Cincinnati Open and 2024 China Open.

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