French tennis player Arthur Bouquier has disclosed that he received a terrifying threat just days after the ordeal involving Emma Raducanu and her stalker became public.
Bouquier was subjected to alarming abuse as he was preparing to compete against Florian Broska at the Thionville Challenger tournament.
Bouquier secured a victory in straight sets in his opening round match. However, prior to the game, he was sent a disturbing threat from an individual who had placed a bet on the match outcome.
Bouquier shared the threatening message on social media, also tagging several tennis governing bodies to bring attention to the issue.
The threatening message stated: “I just hope you make the effort to beat him in two sets because I have bet 2000 euros for you to win in two sets. I swear, if you lose, I will never forgive you. I will track you and your family down just to hurt you, even if it means going to prison. Might as well, because if I lose these 2000 euros, I’ll be out on the streets, so my life won’t make sense anymore. I might as well spend my days in prison. I swear on my mother’s life that I will come after you. Right now I am at the court in Thionville where you’re playing exactly at 15.20. Be careful. These are not empty threats. Good luck.”
Tennis authorities have not yet issued a response to this threat.
This message to Bouquier comes just days after British tennis star Raducanu was distressed by a stalker. Raducanu, aged 22, hid behind the umpire’s chair after noticing a man displaying “fixated behavior” in the audience at a tournament in Dubai.
This individual had previously followed her in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. Raducanu recounted her unsettling experience before participating in the Indian Wells tournament in California.
Raducanu explained, “There were two instances, and it was the second one that really frightened me. The first encounter was more like a typical fan approaching, except he mentioned he had been following me from place to place. And then he observed me for a while in the coffee shop. The second incident was genuinely alarming. I was obviously very distraught, I didn’t know how I was going to finish [the match]. I literally couldn’t see through the tears, I could barely breathe. I couldn’t see the ball.”
