35-Year-Old Convicted of Stalking Tennis Star

Emma Raducanu tells court it feels 'like my freedom has been taken away from me'
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2022 5:40 PM CST
Raducanu Says Stalker Took Her Freedom
Emma Raducanu of Britain plays a backhand return to Danka Kovinic of Montenegro last week at the Australian Open.   (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

After tennis star Emma Raducanu told a UK court she no longer feels safe in her home—"which is where I should feel safest"—a 35-year-old man was convicted Friday of stalking her. Amrit Magar, a former Amazon driver, will be sentenced later, the BBC reports. Magar repeatedly went to the house where Raducanu, 19, lives with her parents, leaving flowers, cards and notes. He left a map showing the route he'd walked from his home in north London to hers in south London, with a note saying, "23 miles walked 4 you," per the Guardian. Another note read, "you deserve love."

"Because of this I feel like my freedom has been taken away from me," Raducanu's statement to authorities said. "I am constantly looking over my shoulder." She said she wants to move to a house with better security because she's afraid Magar will return. Magar, who was recorded by a door camera at the house, told the court he was ashamed to learn that he'd upset Raducanu, but the judge didn't buy it. "His inability to explain how he did not think this was harassment is incapable of belief," Sushil Kumar said.

Raducanu said she's been "creeped out" since the stalking began. "I feel very apprehensive if I go out, especially if I am on my own,” she said. In early December, Magar decorated a tree with Christmas lights in the Raducanus' front garden and swiped a shoe from the front porch. He was arrested after the star's father, Ian, followed him in a car while calling police. Magar was released on bail on the conditions that he not contact the family and stay away from the area. (Raducanu won an all-teenage final at the US Open last fall.)

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