Emma Raducanu’s stalker has been blocked from buying Wimbledon tickets by the All England Club.
The British No.1 hid behind the umpire’s chair in tears during her defeat at the Dubai Championships in February before a “fixated” man was removed from the stadium
It was the fourth consecutive event after Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha where the South American man had been watching Raducanu in action. He also approached her the day before in a coffee shop.
The stalker was given a restraining order by Dubai police and his name was circulated to tennis events around the world.
And the All England Club picked up his name from a sweep of the public ballot after Dubai and removed his application. The Wimbledon ballot closed last year but tickets can still be reallocated from resales until the start of The Championships on June 30.
Former US Open champion Raducanu had another obsessive fan who was given a five-year restraining order after visiting her family home in Bromley and stealing items in 2021. Raducanu admitted last week that she is still “wary” when she goes out.
Speaking at the Spring Conference last week, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton had promised to step up security after the incident.
British No.2 Katie Boulter has revealed she has been sent threatening messages on social media and was once followed in London by another car.
Bolton said: “The safety and wellbeing of all of the players is our absolute top priority. I think the recent incidents coming to light certainly recognise the concern generated by that.
“But we have in place – and have had for many years – processes for ensuring the safety of our players. And that is in liaison with law enforcement agencies, specialist security teams and we liaise with both tours. And that is year round not just in preparation for The Championships.
“We are putting in place measures that are reflective of the threat and risk profile at the time. It is absolutely a top priority for us.
“We probably wouldn’t at this point comment on any details in respect of any individual athlete but that intelligence is being gathered working with those other parties throughout the year to make sure we have got the right measures in place come The Championships.”
