A TV cameraman has been accused of ‘wildly inappropriate’ behaviour towards Emma Raducanu during her tennis match with Danielle Collins.
The incident took place in the round of 16 of women’s singles at the clay-court Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament on Wednesday.
American star Collins came from behind to defeat British No.2 Raducanu 4-6 6-1 6-3 in the final warm-up event before the French Open on May 25.
The match was largely overshadowed by the cameraman drama – which led to Collins urging him to back away after he got too close to the players.
During a changeover in the third set, Collins accused the cameraman of being ‘on top’ of Raducanu and being in her way when she needed to refill her water bottle.
‘I need to get water,’ Collins said towards the cameraman. ‘We’re having a changeover.
‘You don’t need to be that close to me, and you don’t need to be on top of Emma. It’s wildly inappropriate. It’s not that difficult to give [us] space.’
Speaking after their clash, Raducanu, who required a medical timeout earlier in the match over a lower back issue, added: ‘I was standing up [during the incident] because I didn’t want to sit down because of my back.
‘I was standing as it was a bit more comfortable. Then, [Collins] came to fill a bottle up and was saying how the cameraman was really close and it felt a bit inappropriate. That’s all she was saying.’
Earlier this season in a seperate incident, Raducanu was targeted by a stalker during a tournament in Dubai, which saw her break down in tears and upgrade her security team, with the man handed a restraining order.
‘I was obviously very distraught,’ Raducanu said about the stalker incident in March. ‘I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to finish. I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe.
‘Since the incident in Dubai, I have been a lot more aware, whereas before I maybe would have gone on walks alone. I’m not going anywhere alone. I’m pretty much chaperoned everywhere.’
Danielle Collins’ fiery reputation
Meanwhile, Collins has built a reputation of being an outspoken player with an explosive personality on the WTA Tour.
Danielle Collins’ feuds with Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari
Collins’ fiery emotions on and off the court have contributed to her being nicknamed ‘Danimal’.
The American has previously had beef with top players such as Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari.
Speaking after their match at the Paris Olympics last year, Collins accused Swiatek of being insincere.
‘There’s a lot that happens on camera and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma… [who] are one way on camera and another way in the locker room,’ Collins said. ‘I don’t need the fakeness.’
During a heated match at the 2023 Canadian Open, meanwhile, Collins turned to Sakkari and said: ‘Shut your mouth.’
At this year’s Australian Open, she became somewhat of a pantomime villain after eliminating the last Aussie player left standing in the women’s singles – Destanee Aiava – blowing kisses towards an angry, booing crowd.
‘You know I was thinking during the match, hmm, if I’m out here I may as well take that big fat paycheck,’ Collins said as the boos went up in volume.
In her post-match press conference, Collins added: ‘I think they really wanted her to win badly. I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.
‘I loved it. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they’re on. I’m somebody, too, it kind of just motivates me even more. So it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well.
‘I’m going to be out here for two-and-a-half hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well just take the bigger paycheck, right? I was super happy to do that.’