The name of a 'fixated' man, who was removed from the crowd during Emma Raducanu's second-round match in Dubai, has been passed on to Wimbledon, after the British tennis was reduced to tears on Tuesday evening.

Raducanu had made a poor start to her second round clash with Karolina Muchova, going 2-0 down in the first set, when she broke down in tears on the court and quickly made for the umpire Miriam Bley's chair. 

With the crowd and those watching at home mystified as to what had distressed Raducanu, she seemed to hide behind the chair, Muchova making her way over to offer her support. 

The game quickly resumed after a man in the crowd was removed, and it was later revealed that the man had approached Raducanu the previous evening, 'exhibiting fixated behaviour', according to a WTA statement. 

Within hours of the incident, Mail Sport now understands the man’s name was shared with Wimbledon, who immediately placed him on a watchlist they maintain of suspect individuals.

The man’s identity has not been made public, although we understand he is not a British national, but you can be sure it has been likewise circulated to tennis organisations around the world.

A Wimbledon spokesperson said: ‘We are aware there are a number of fixated individuals who follow players around the world and we work to ensure the players are protected at all times when in the All England Club Grounds.’ 

The WTA confirmed that a man had previously approached Raducanu at her first-round match against Maria Sakkari, adding in a statement that the governing body were working with the player to ensure her safety. The man has been banned from WTA events. 

Hours after fans and viewers were left confused as to what had befallen Raducanu on the court, a statement was released by the WTA, which read:

'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 and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.’

Remarkably Raducanu was able to rally and return to action, but fell to a two-set defeat by Muchova, 7-6 6-4 in a tightly-fought contest.

On Wednesday, Raducanu then flew home to England, and took to Instagram to try and allay any fears over her wellbeing. 

Alongside a photo of the Jane Austen novel 'Emma' and a cup of coffee, Raducanu wrote: 'Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday but I'll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match. 

'Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.' 

It is understood that Raducanu had been startled after seeing the man on a number of occasions previously.

She was able to compose herself to complete Tuesday's match after being reassured that action was being taken by security. 

With investigations continuing on Wednesday, Raducanu was due to fly home to London. 

Organisers of the Dubai Open had earlier released their own statement following Raducanu's ordeal.

'We fully support the statement made earlier today by the WTA in regard to an incident involving Emma Raducanu on February 17,' their statement read. 

'The tournament security team worked in collaboration with the WTA security team to proactively identify and immediately eject the individual in question from the stadium during Emma's second-round match on Tuesday. 

'We support the WTA's decision to ban the individual in question from all WTA events, and share the Tour's longstanding commitment to player welfare, safety and wellbeing.

'We thank Emma for her contribution to this year's tournament, and look forward to welcoming her back next year.' 

Raducanu has previously been targeted by unwanted and troubling attention from obsessive fans, seeing a five-year ban handed out to a stalker who walked 23 miles to her family home in late 2021.

Amrit Magar, 35, was convicted in early 2022 after being found guilty of sending love notes, visiting Raducanu's home on three separate occasions, and stealing a shoe which he believed belonged to the then-19-year-old player. 

Raducanu later admitted in a statement shared with the court that the experience had left her 'constantly looking over her shoulder' and feeling as if her 'freedom had been taken away'. 

The player had previously been looking to build on snapping her losing streak after a confident defeat of Sakkari in the first round. 

Raducanu had previously lost three matches in a row, failing to make it past of the first round at both the Abu Dhabi Open and the Qatar Open on the heels of her Australian Open exit last month.