British tennis player Emma Raducanu hiding behind the referee’s chair after having spotted a man who had “exposed a fixed behavior” was a painful scene.
He gave a brutal recall of the dangers facing female athletes.
The man was Police detainee After the incident at the Dubai tennis championships on Tuesday and gave a ban.
“When you know that it can go so far, that you think that a person is so obsessed with you, that she will find a way in your court, it’s very, very stressful,” said the former champion of Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli, BBC Radio 5 Live.
BBC Sport examines why female athletes continue to fear them, the security measures that are in place to protect them and what more can be done to ensure that they feel more safe.
The “additional risk” in the face of female athletes
According to the United Kingdom National Statistics Office, about one in five women experiences their hunt for their lives.
Being a well -known public figure increases the exhibition and a number of tennis players have been subject to predatory behavior in recent years.
Raducanu, 22, has already been the victim of a harasser, with another man Given a five -year ban order in 2022 After traveling 23 miles to his house.
British player compatriot Katie Boulter Described at the Guardian last year How she had been followed by people in a car and on foot, while American players Danielle Collins And Sloane Stephens also highlighted the harassment they had to face.
A man was billed last month With the American trachian Basketball Caitlin Clark, while Sprinter Gabby Thomas and rugby player Ilona Maher recently talked about their fears.
Bartoli recalled a similar tearing experience in a match at the All England Club in 2007.
Bartoli described how a man followed him throughout the British season on the field, presenting himself to the events of Birmingham and Eastbourne before claiming to be a member of the Wimbledon Groupstaff to get closer to her.
“He found a way to buy the same kit and get into my courts,” she added.
“I recognized it in my first round match against Flavia Pennetta and I pointed it out right away.
“I said he was not a complex, he didn’t work there, it was someone who has been tracking me for three weeks.”
Stephanie Hilborne, Director General of Charitable Women Sport, told BBC Sport that “every woman had a level of fear”.
“It is not limited to the most visible women-but the more visible you are, the more this risk is and feels,” she said.
“In sport, we have the situation where your body is very exposed, which makes additional risks.”
What happened to Raducanu in Dubai?
Raducanu was approached by the man near the site of the Dubai tournament on Monday – the day between his first round and second round matches.
The US Open 2021 champion received a letter from the man, which the sources in Dubai told BBC Sport included her name and her phone number, which she had opened later in her hotel.
After Raducanu informed the WTA of the incident, the tournament security teams were informed on Tuesday afternoon.
However, the man was still able to enter the small stadium where Raducanu played Karolina Muchova later in the evening.
Raducanu spotted it in the front rows behind the base line and, having become visibly upset by telling the referee what was the problem, the man was removed by security.
Raducanu managed to regain her composure and resumed the match, which she lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
Tuesday, having left Dubai, she said that she “was fine” after the “difficult circumstances”.
Mhairi Maclennan, a British long runner who is the co-founder of Kynisniska Advocacy, who supports women and victims of abuse in sport, believes that players in the Raducanu situation should leave the court for an assessment of emotional well-being.
“Speaking of my own experience, the psychological and emotional impact of something as it happens during a competition can make you derail,” said Maclennan to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“What I would have liked to see in this case, and others where an athlete was visibly shaken, is that they arouse the competition as far as possible.
“In a tennis match, make sure she is able to go see someone.
“I am not saying that the result would have been different if it could have come back later, but it is a question of offering her a choice.”
How additional security has not stopped the “deeply disturbing” incident
According to the WTA, the players have been escorted to and since the match of the match by at least one security guard.
Improved security is ensured if a player has been the target of a credible threat.
The WTA indicates that additional security has been granted to Raducanu after its concerns were raised.
Tournament sources insist that “efforts” were made to identify the man before the Raducanu match.
However, questions remain on how he was allowed to enter the stadium.
Hilborne thinks he is “deeply, deeply disturbing” that man was able to get closer so close to Raducanu.
“I do not know what has happened to security in this case, but if an athlete has already reported someone, there should be no chance that the same person can present himself in this circumstance,” -He declared.
“You hope that the severity of this situation, where a woman signals someone for this type of behavior, means that they are no chance that they will reach security.”
Dangers of “inadvertently overexposing female athletes”
The WTA says that the well-being and safety of players are an absolute priority, adding that the safeguard is “an area in which we always remain vigilant”.
The director body indicates the “important commitments” he has made to education and training, as well as the increase in personnel and resources in the safeguard.
“Our approach recognizes that an effective backup is multifaceted and strongest when all the people involved in the game are invested and held to the same standards,” said WTA.
A key concern for women in Kynisniska sport and advocacy is the effect caused by elite female athletes used as marketing tools to push the growth of female sports.
“We must inadvertently stop elite female athletes,” said Hilborne.
“It is worrying to know how much they are pushed to exhibit their personal life via social media and should get more at risk in order to generate more income for sport.
“We have to sell the skills and the danger of the game rather than individual life.”
Anti-Misogynia policies, introduced as a financing condition given to sports, should also be compulsory, according to Women in Sport.
He demanded that social media accounts broadcast misogynist messages to be deactivated and reiterated his call for an independent sports regulator to manage misogyny reports.
Hilborne also wants men to “resist women to address the system”.
“When you get a brilliant tennis player like Emma you want to celebrate, you don’t want to face these negative aspects – you want to celebrate their game and the history of sport,” said Hilborne.
“But when it happens, we remember that there was not enough action. It is unacceptable.”
