Emma Raducanu has returned to Instagram just 48 hours after deactivating her account. The tennis star took the drastic action after being the victim of a frightening stalker ordeal whilst competing in Dubai. Just two points into her Dubai Open second-round clash with Karolina Muchova, Raducanu was reduced to tears after spotting the ‘fixated’ individual in the crowd. After pointing out the person, they were removed by security and then arrested by Dubai Police.
Raducanu then played out the remainder of the match but was ultimately beaten 6-7 4-6. The 22-year-old then returned for the Indian Wells Masters in California but was beaten by Moyuka Uchijima in the opening round of the competition, losing 3-6 2-6.
After enduring such a torrid time on and off the court, Raducanu appeared to ditch social media in the hope of giving herself a break and focusing on tennis. Her account, which has 2.6 million followers, was deactivated on Thursday.
However, the British No.2 has now returned to the platform. She has not posted on Instagram since her short break, though her bio has changed from ‘Ad astra per aspera’ – which is a Latin phrase which translates to ‘to the stars through the hardships’ – to simply ‘Emma.’
Speaking about her worrying ordeal with her stalker previously, Raducanu said: “There were two instances and it was the second one that I just got freaked out by. The first one was more like a normal fan approaching you, except for the fact he told me he followed me from everywhere.
“And then [he] kind of watched me in the coffee shop for a while… the second incident was really worrying.”
Her former coach Roman Kelecic was in attendance in Dubai when the individual was spotted as well. Speaking about the incident to i, he said: “Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker. Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.
“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting: ‘Here he is, here he is, here he is’.”
