British tennis sensation Emma Raducanu has opened up about her frightening encounter with a stalker during last month's match in Dubai, an experience that left her sheltering behind the umpire's chair in tears. Speaking to BBC Sport, the 22 year old shared that while authorities could have handled the situation better, she's now relieved with the increased security measures in place at Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open.

Emma, still shaken by the incidents where the man approached her alone on two occasions, said, "(It) could have been dealt with better. Since that incident I have definitely got increased attention and greater security."

She continued, "All we can do is look at what happened and react to it in a better way, in a more positive way, rather than looking back and blaming the situation. Now it is being dealt with better, so for me that's important."

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The young star, who had considered a longer break from tennis, returned to the tour expressing heightened vigilance: "I'm always now very aware and not necessarily doing things on my own any more. I'm always with someone and always being watched."

Though Raducanu chose not to press charges after the individual was caught, he has been prohibited from attending future tournaments.

Emma Raducanu's childhood coach, Roman Kelecic, who accompanied her in the Emirates, revealed to a Croatian website that a man had followed Raducanu across four tournaments and attempted to hug her. This caused Raducanu to become visibly distressed early in her match with Muchova upon spotting him in the crowd.

Speaking to British reporters in Indian Wells, Raducanu shared: "I was obviously very distraught."

She continued, "I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to finish'. I literally couldn't see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, 'I need to just take a breather here'."

Despite the incident, Raducanu played on after the man was ejected from the arena, although she ultimately lost 7-6 6-4. "It was a very emotional time," Raducanu added.

"After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost."

She explained the outpouring of emotion was due to the accumulation of events over the past few weeks and that she needed the subsequent week off to recuperate. Feeling much better now, Raducanu is set to face Japan's Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked slightly above her, in the first round in California.

The victor will then be up against third seed Coco Gauff, as the top 32 players enjoy byes into the second round. Notably, this isn't the first instance of Raducanu dealing with a stalker; in 2022, an obsessive fan was issued a restraining order after visiting her home thrice.