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One year on from Emma Raducanu stalker hell, tennis still has a major problem dealing with crazed fans, writes TAMARA PRENN

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Before the start of last year’s Dubai Open, Emma Raducanu‘s 2025 had already seen its fair share of false starts.

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Looking to complete her first full year on tour after bouncing back from a string of surgeries in 2023, the British No 1 had reached the third round at the Australian Open, with wins against two seeded opponents in Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova, before she was knocked out by world No 2 Iga Swiatek.

A string of first round exits in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar followed before Raducanu returned to the UAE for her sixth tournament of the season.

After an opening round win against Maria Sakkari, there were reasons to be cheerful ahead of facing talented Czech star Karolina Muchova in the second round.

Instead, her defeat to the 14th seed came with far worse consequences. During the match, Raducanu became visibly distressed after seeing a man in the stands who had displayed ‘fixated behaviour’, including handing a letter to Raducanu outside of the tournament grounds after beating Sakkari.

The man is thought to have followed Raducanu to four of her tournaments since the start of that year, and was later handed a restraining order.

For Raducanu, this painful incident would have felt depressingly familiar. A UK-based stalker had previously received a five-year restraining order against the 2021 US Open champion a year after her success at Flushing Meadows.

More examples of tennis stars feeling threatened have followed in the year following, a terrifying reminder that the issue of stalking and abusive contact both on and off the court in the women’s game is not going away.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Raducanu was offered increased protection at her next major tournament, Indian Wells, in the form of extra security guards.

But even the additional provisions weren’t enough to stem the player’s wariness, as she noted in her first in-depth interview since Dubai in June.

‘It was difficult,’ she told BBC Sport. ‘It was emphasised by the fact I didn’t necessarily feel certain or comfortable in my own set-up and team so it just added to the anxious feeling.

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.

‘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 negative, I kind of brush it off as much as I can.’

While Raducanu was rebuilding, Swiatek, a former world No 1 and one of the biggest names in the game, was forced to endure threatening circumstances at another Masters tournament.

The Pole saw her preparations for her round-of-32 match against Elise Mertens disturbed when a 40-year-old man launched a ‘primitive’ and ‘vulgar’ attack at her.

 

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Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture

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The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.

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With the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.

Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?

Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.

“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.

Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..

 

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Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.

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Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.

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It’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.

These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.

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Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses

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It looks like LIV Golf is over.

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The Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.

That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.

So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.

But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?

Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.

Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.

 

That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.

 

If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.

But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.

Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.

For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.

Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time

With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.

He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.

DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.

He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.

He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.

He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.

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