The Indian Wells organizers are willing to go to great lengths to have Emma Raducanu compete in the paradise as the tournament if offering the 22-year-old five extra security guards.
Last week, the Briton was brought to tears – looked very distressed – and hid under the chair umpire’s bench – just two games into her Dubai second-round match against Karolina Muchova.
Later, it was revealed that she spotted a stalker, who had been following her for weeks and also approached her in Dubai before her match versus Muchova.
Since Raducanu’s next scheduled tournament is Indian Wells which starts on March 5th, the tournament organizers figured out that she may have some fears considering that the Dubai incident is still fresh.
So, according to The Times, they are giving additional protection to the 2021 US Open champion – which will be overseen by Bob Campbell – who is a former secret service agent and had a prominent role during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
Coach revealed that Raducanu’s stalker had ‘a terrifying strategy’
Roman Kelecic, the Briton’s junior coach who was with her in Dubai, revealed that the man who approached the 22-year-old was also seen by the team in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
“That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach, the security guard who was with us, was not with her at that moment,” Kelecic told net.hr.
“So that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.
“It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.
“That evening, we reported it immediately and again in the morning, when she was playing the match, because her safety is the most important thing to us.”
Meanwhile, Raducanu has played in Indian Wells in each of the last four years, with her best result being a round-of-16 showing in 2023.
Tennis World USA