"I could hardly breathe" Stalking in tennis: when the stars cry
Fearing a stalker, Emma Raducanu recently hid behind the umpire's chair and cried. German number one Eva Lys also deals with such issues. How can the stars be protected?
15.04.2025, 14:46
15.04.2025, 15:03
dpa
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- Hate attacks on the internet or intrusive harassment are becoming an increasingly big issue in women's tennis.
- Former world number one Iga Swiatek and former US Open winner Emma Raducanu were recently victims of stalking incidents.
- Hate comments are also on the rise. Between January and October 2024, the WTA registered around 12,000 unauthorized posts and comments.
The popularity of tennis also has drastic downsides for German number one Eva Lys. Hate attacks on the internet and intrusive harassment are becoming bigger issues. "As a result, of course, a lot more people are taking notice, which unfortunately gives them very, very bad ideas," said the 23-year-old at the tournament in Stuttgart. These are sensitive topics that need to be talked about loudly because there are ultimately too few ways to take action against them.
Online defamation and harassment are not new topics in tennis, but they have recently come back into the spotlight. Two stalking incidents involving former world number one Iga Swiatek and former US Open winner Emma Raducanu - two of the most famous players on the women's tour - caused quite a stir. Raducanu even hid behind the umpire's chair during a match in Dubai in mid-February for fear of a stalker.
Raducanu talks about fear: "I could hardly breathe"
She "literally couldn't see the ball because of the tears", the 2021 US Open winner said later. "I could hardly breathe." Since then, she has been more vigilant and has increased her safety precautions. The man had already followed her to tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha. He was temporarily banned from all WTA events, the women's organization announced.
Only a few weeks passed before the issue of stalking came up again. The BBC reported that the Polish world number two Swiatek was threatened by a man during training in Miami. As her management told the British broadcaster, the man was aggressive and taunting. A few hours after the report came to light, she was surprisingly eliminated in the quarter-finals in Miami. Swiatek will compete again for the first time this week in Stuttgart.
The transition from online aggression to the real world
"I wouldn't call it a threat," said Swiatek at the Porsche Grand Prix about the incident in Florida. But there was a fan who wanted to disrupt her rhythm. The women's organization WTA helped her to "react quickly", said the Polish player, "and I felt safe." She was also grateful to have her team around her to help her in such situations.
As the BBC reported, the man had previously sent her abusive messages on social media. "The incident in Miami appears to be a direct transition from verbal online aggression to a threat in the real world," said the management, according to the BBC.
Memories of the assassination attempt on Monica Seles
The Stuttgart WTA tournament, which attracts many of the world's best players year after year, says it attaches great importance to security. However, the security staff at the match and training courts have not been increased due to the recent incidents.
"I think there have always been cases like this and there probably always will be," said Anke Huber, the tournament's sporting director. "I don't think it can be completely prevented." The former tennis player still remembers the tragedy of the assassination attempt on the then world number one Monica Seles 32 years ago by a fanatical Steffi Graf fan. Since then, a lot has happened in terms of security on the tennis tour.
According to the WTA, it works with local authorities and security experts in addition to the tournament organizers. Players are encouraged to report any information immediately, regardless of its extent or potential threat.
WTA: 12,000 conspicuous posts in nine months
In order to better protect players online, the WTA introduced a technological solution at the beginning of last year together with other organizations. Artificial intelligence is used to filter messages. Around 12,000 posts and comments that break the rules were detected between January and October 2024. 15 accounts were forwarded to national law enforcement agencies.
The best German tennis player Lys has also made hate messages public before. She is happy that abusive comments and people can be reported if players feel uncomfortable. "The WTA will do everything in its power to ensure that this person no longer gets a ticket to the tennis tournaments," said Lys. "We definitely have to make a statement."
