From Alexander Zverev carrying a bug away to Maria Sharapova’s banana conspiracy, the US Open is no stranger to unusual happenings. Ask Karolina Muchova, who was at the receiving end of one such incident. The Czechia star had a tough second-round encounter against Sorana Cirstea of Romania, winning a thrilling match in three sets. Despite that victory, it was not an outing to remember for the 29-year-old, who went through the same, unsettling situation as Emma Raducanu did once.

During the first set, both players were locked in. However, in the sixth game, Muchova was visibly disturbed by a fan present inside the stadium. When asked about it in her post-match interview, Muchova revealed it was in fact her ex-boyfriend, who was seemingly stalking her. Subsequently, Muchova pointed in his direction and asked him to leave. Muchova was left visibly disturbed by the incident, tearing up while trying to serve. Even the chair umpire Alison Hughes was concerned by the incident and asked Muchova if she was okay.

Further, during the post-match interview, Karolina Muchova was asked what exactly happened during the first set. She replied, “Well… it wasn’t tennis related, so I don’t really like talking about it. But opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down. He sometimes shows up at events where he shouldn’t be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave, he didn’t, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.”

Meanwhile, Muchova has had quite an eventful outing so far at the US Open. In the first round, she defeated the iconic Venus Williams, followed by a tough win over Cirstea. Both matches have gone to three sets, and it has been an emotionally challenging and physically taxing tournament for the 29-year-old.

Strangely enough, Karolina Muchova was on the court when Emma Raducanu suffered the same fate in Dubai this year. The Brit had a horror outing there and revealed how she tries to avoid such situations.

Emma Raducanu’s careful steps post stalking incident

During the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this year, a man with a fixated behavior stalked Raducanu during her match. It was the same individual who had followed Raducanu before. As a result, Raducanu was reduced to tears and had a harrowing experience there. Subsequently, she became extra careful and revealed the steps she follows so that such incidents don’t happen again.

During an interview, she said, “I’ve definitely noticed a difference in how people are watching my back when I’m on the site [at tournaments]. I’m obviously wary when I go out. I try not to be careless about it because you only realise how much of a problem it is when you’re in that situation and I don’t necessarily want to be in that situation again.”

Further, she also added, “But off the court right now, I feel good. I feel pretty settled. I feel like I have good people around me and anything that was kind of negative I’m just like trying to brush it off as much as I can.”

With such incidents on the rise, fans have implored tennis authorities should take stringent steps in such circumstances.