Tennis star Iga Swiatek gets extra security after being harassed at Miami Open

Abuse of tennis star Iga Swiatek by an ‘aggressive and taunting’ spectator comes only a month after Emma Raducanu’s terrifying stalker ordeal in Dubai.

Iga Swiatek has been given extra security protection at the Miami Open after receiving verbal abuse from an “aggressive and taunting” male spectator during a practice session.

The 23-year-old five-times grand-slam singles champion from Poland was targeted on Saturday while she trained on an outside court at the Hard Rock Stadium complex. Footage that has emerged online in the past 24 hours shows a man shouting insults in Polish about Swiatek’s family and her psychologist Daria Abramowicz.

Swiatek — who lost her quarter-final match on Wednesday evening — did not engage with the man and continued with hitting drills before her team reported the incident to event organisers afterwards. She has since been provided with additional security guards during her run to the quarter-finals of this prestigious WTA 1000 tournament.

The targeting of Swiatek comes a month after Emma Raducanu was the subject of “fixated behaviour” from a man who followed her across four separate tournaments in Asia and approached her in a public café in Dubai. He was given a restraining order by police in the United Arab Emirates, while Raducanu received increased security at the recent Indian Wells Open.

Iga Swiatek was targeted while she trained on an outside court at the Hard Rock Stadium complex. Picture: Getty Images

The incident involving Swiatek is of a different nature because the spectator openly abused her. Swiatek’s team identified him as a man who had previously sent offensive messages to her on social media, and his X account featured a post on Friday that told his followers he was going to Swiatek’s practice session on Saturday to ask “questions”. The account has since been deactivated.

“The Miami incident appears to be a direct transition from verbal aggression online to harassment in the real world,” a spokesman for Swiatek said. “He was aggressive and taunting.

“Security is a top priority. We monitor the network to catch these types of issues. Constructive criticism is one thing, and threats, hate speech or even disturbance during training is another — this cannot be condoned.

“We reported the matter to the tournament organiser, as well as to the WTA, which reacted immediately and took additional precautions, such as additional security, for which we are very grateful. Ensuring the safety of the players is crucial; they are the ones at the centre of the event and it is our job to protect them.”

Iga Swiatek acknowledges the crowd after her loss to Alexandra Eala. Picture: Getty Images

The five-times grand-slam singles champion Swiatek lost 6-2, 7-5 against the world No.140 Alexandra Eala. The 19-year-old from the Philippines will play the winner of Emma Raducanu and Jessica Pegula in the semi-final.

It is another sad reminder of the abuse and danger that female athletes face regularly, most of which comes online. Last year Swiatek said that she was reluctant to look at the comments below her posts on social media.

“I feel like we can’t be on the internet and feel safe any more,” Swiatek said during last year’s US Open.

“You have to really be careful on what you’re reading, who you’re following.”

Miami Open organisers did not hesitate in offering Swiatek extra protection, which is understood to also involve a security guard being positioned near her team in the courtside coaching box.

“We take the safety and security of all players and tournament attendees extremely seriously,” a tournament spokesman said.

“We constantly evaluate any potential threats and take every measure to respond appropriately.”

Originally published as Tennis star Iga Swiatek gets extra security after being harassed at Miami Open