You may have heard about Emma Raducanu’s match against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February – but for all the wrong reasons.
This week, Raducanu, the UK’s number two, told reporters how shocked and upset she was when she spotted a man in the crowd who had been stalking her: "I literally couldn't see the ball through tears,” she said. “I could barely breathe.”
After seeing the man, Raducanu proceeded to hide behind the umpire’s chair in tears.
Security was called in, and while Muchova and the umpire consoled Raducanu, the man was removed from the stadium. At the time, people were confused, but as the camera zoomed into Raducanu’s face, her fear was indisputable. Many women recognised that look – it’s the moment when you realise you may not be safe after all.
In a statement released after the match, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said: "On Monday Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour. This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”
This “fixated behaviour” is that of a stalker and the man has subsequently been given a restraining order. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to Raducanu. Three years ago, another man was given a restraining order for following her home and stealing her father’s shoe. In an unsettling series of events, where he was seen leaving gifts, decorating trees in her front garden, and drawing a map of his 23-mile walk to her house, the man was eventually arrested and found guilty of stalking.
So, when she recognised the face of another man who could harm her, Raducanu understandably had a strong reaction. She may be in the public arena, surrounded by people, but her safety isn’t technically assured.
I remember watching the news of the 1993 Citizen Cup match in Hamburg when tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back on the court by a fan of Seles’ rival, Stefi Graff. While Seles recovered, she suffered from depression and an eating disorder before she was able to return to tennis in 1995.
The incident stayed with me – and I’m sure many other women – as I found myself wondering what protocols, if any, are put in place to keep women safe at work. Years later, I’m asking myself the same question again. Women feel cautious in most places, whether at a bar, walking home, in a taxi or at work. And if a stalker feels confident in attending a televised event full of cameras and the media, what are the chances for someone like me to stay safe?
I spent most of my 20s and some of my 30s working in pubs or bars, where I was put into high-risk situations on multiple occasions. I have been followed home by regulars, sexually harassed by drunks and racially abused while attempting to lock up. No safety measures were put in place beyond “Make sure [largest male co-worker on shift] is closing up with you,” and, more often than not, we were left alone in dangerous situations.
As I got older, I moved away from the hospitality industry and became an “increasingly online” person, as a writer and magazine editor, I realised my safety was still compromised. I worried that if someone really wanted to, they could find where I lived. These weren’t baseless worries, either: a man once sent me a photo of his desk set-up with my face plastered all over his screens. No matter how often I blocked him, he found new profiles to stalk me on. Eventually, he disappeared from my life, but the fear of him didn’t and nor did the image seared in my brain of my face all over his computer screen.
There are significant gender inequalities that prevent women from safely completing their jobs, which most men will not face – my experience of being groped by drunk people at a pub, for example. If we are to achieve a fair and equitable workforce, women will need to be given better support systems. If we’re living in a world where men are emboldened to stalk and intimidate women at events where they are surrounded by people, what will stop them from coming to your office, gym or home?
Violence against women occurs daily, and we need to take a serious position on women’s livelihoods. This starts with raising awareness, listening to women’s concerns, taking them seriously and being allies. Until proper safety measures are established, women like Raducanu will continue to live in fear.
