Emma Raducanu will no longer be able to communicate with her fans via Instagram after suddenly deleting her account.
The 2021 US Open champion’s last match was a loss to Moyuka Uchijima at the 2025 Indian Wells Open. That was Raducanu’s sixth loss in the last seven matches since reaching the Australian Open third round.
However, Raducanu’s performances might have been impacted by a scary stalking incident. She broke down in tears and hid behind the umpire’s chair after noticing someone in the crowd during her match at the 2025 Dubai Championships against Karolina Muchova.
It turned out the individual who made Raducanu so uncomfortable had shown what the WTA called “fixated behavior” when meeting her earlier in the tournament, before then attending the match with Muchova to be close to the Briton again.
However, the story goes back further than that. A coach who helped Raducanu at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open confirmed that the same individual followed her at the Abu Dhabi Open, the Qatar Open, and then the Dubai Championships.
That made Raducanu’s reaction even more understandable. The incident has shaken her, and she admitted that a lack of preparation after what happened contributed to her defeat at the Indian Wells Open.
Being followed by that individual at the Middle Eastern tournaments might have influenced her decision to get off Instagram, but it is impossible to know for certain until Raducanu comments about the situation.
Social media can be very toxic, especially to female tennis players. Many players, including Mirra Andreeva and Carolina Garcia, have spoken about and shared disgusting messages received, including death threats.
Handling that can be challenging at the best of times. Doing so after being stalked could be even harder, and Raducanu might have decided she does not need that negativity in her life right now.
Unfortunately, Raducanu is particularly susceptible to abuse because of her incredible run to the US Open title as an 18-year-old. That created unrealistic expectations among many, who failed to realize that some difficulties after that moment were inevitable.
Raducanu’s struggles since her heroics at Flushing Meadows have made her among the most popular targets for internet trolls, who try and add some value to their lives by making abusive comments.
Coco Gauff is also another target for social media abuse, but she takes a different approach to Raducanu. The 21-year-old sometimes responds directly to haters, such as mocking them for thinking she had a bad season before the American won the 2024 WTA Finals.
Gauff’s trolls have undoubtedly been out in force again after her defeat to Belinda Bencic in the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Open. That continued a challenging run of form for her since falling to Paula Badosa in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal.
However, the world No. 3 also has a large and passionate fanbase that supports her through challenging moments. Many of Gauff’s fans raved about the dress she wore at the recent Oscars Ceremony, which the 2023 US Open champion attended with her mom.
