British tennis No.1 Katie Boulter has revealed that she was threatened by a tennis fan at a tournament in Nottingham.
Boulter, a two-time defending champion at the LTA-run event, recounted her unsettling experience in December, which occurred at her local tournament near Leicester.
The issue of harassment against tennis players has gained increased attention this week, particularly after Emma Raducanu was targeted by a “fixated man” in Dubai.
Boulter shared her own disturbing incident, stating, “One time in Nottingham, I had someone messaging me on social media saying: ‘I’m outside. I’m going to hurt you if you come outside.’”
She added, “I immediately informed the WTA, and they located the individual, who was indeed on-site. Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are not uncommon.”
“We are very well protected, which makes you feel safe. The WTA is very supportive in these situations.”
“I do feel like we are protected as much as possible, which at least puts your mind at ease a little bit.”
Boulter has been in a relationship with Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur since 2020. Last year, while picking up De Minaur from the ATP event in Queen’s, Boulter faced further harassment.
“I had someone follow me in their car,” she explained. “We went to Sloane Square, got out, walked around the shops, and the same car followed us home.”
“I was with Alex, so it was absolutely fine, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
Boulter described such encounters as “kind of normal nowadays,” adding, “It’s a weird world sometimes.”
Raducanu reported her own incident to the WTA earlier this week after a “fixated man” approached her with a note in Dubai. This same person then appeared at her match against Karolina Muchova, leading to a tearful Raducanu seeking refuge behind the umpire’s chair while the man was removed from the stadium.
Raducanu: “I’ll Be Okay”
Raducanu released a statement on social media, saying: “Thank you for the messages of support. Yesterday was a difficult experience, 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.”
Raducanu’s distressing experience prompted world No.14 Mirra Andreeva to share her own ordeal from when she was just 14 years old.
Andreeva, now 17, stated: “After every loss, I think every player receives a bunch of hateful messages.”
“I remember once when I was young, when I was 14-years-old, playing in one of my first ITF tournaments, and I received a message after losing that said: ‘Look around because I’m going to find you and I’m going to cut your arms.’”
“That is still the one that I remember to this day.”
