Emma Raducanu was targeted by a man who “exhibited fixated behaviour” during her second-round loss to Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships, the WTA said.

An emotional Raducanu, 22, was seen hiding behind the umpire’s chair two games into the defeat by Muchova.

“On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour,” said the Women’s Tennis Association.

“This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday and subsequently ejected.”

The man has been banned from all WTA events, “pending a threat assessment”.

Raducanu alerted the chair umpire to the situation and was comforted by 14th seed Muchova as the individual was removed from court three.

The Briton returned to the court to applause from the crowd and continued playing, but fell to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat.

In 2022, a man who walked 23 miles to the London home of Raducanu was given a five-year restraining order.

The WTA said: “Player safety is our top priority, and tournaments are advised on security best practices for international sporting events.

“The WTA is actively working with Emma and her team to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support.

“We remain committed to collaborating with tournaments and their security teams worldwide to maintain a safe environment for all players.”

The Dubai Tennis Championships said it “fully supported” the WTA’s statement, and subsequent action taken by the governing body of the women’s game.

“The tournament security team worked in collaboration with the WTA security team to proactively identify and immediately eject the individual in question from the stadium,” said tournament organisers.

“We support the WTA’s decision to ban the individual in question from all WTA events, and share the tour’s longstanding commitment to player welfare, safety and wellbeing.

“We thank Emma for her contribution to this year’s tournament and look forward to welcoming her back next year.”

Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of firing a gun at a former friend.

A jury in Los Angeles acquitted the musician, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, on two felony assault charges that carried up to 24 years in prison.

Terell Ephron claimed the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star opened fire at him during an argument on a Hollywood street on 6 November 2021, grazing his knuckles with one of the shots.

Mr Mayers, who is also a fashion mogul and the longtime partner of pop star Rihanna, denied the charges, arguing that the weapon was a prop gun and that his former friend, who calls himself A$AP Relli, was only after money.

As the first not-guilty verdict was read on Tuesday, the court rang with screams and clapping. Mr Mayers rushed towards his family and partner Rihanna, who were seated behind him. He dived over a wooden barrier to embrace them.

He hugged his lawyers and appeared to have tears in his eyes as the second not-guilty verdict was read.

“Thank God for saving my life,” Mr Mayers said aloud. He thanked members of the 12-person jury.

The rapper was arrested on the two felony assault charges after a heated argument with his former friend in the heart of Hollywood.

Mr Mayers and Mr Ephron have known each other since high school in New York and were part of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective.

Their friendship cooled as A$AP Rocky’s career took off.

Authorities said Mr Ephron met Mr Mayers on 6 November 2021, a day after the pair had a disagreement, outside a hotel about a block from the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

An altercation ensued.

Mr Mayers was alleged to have whipped out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Ephron, telling him: “I’ll kill you right now.”

“He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me,” Mr Ephron testified.

Mr Ephron said he told the rapper to fire the weapon, but Mr Mayers started walking away.

As he left, Mr Ephron followed, shouting at him.

Prosecutors alleged that at this point, Mr Mayers once again pulled out the gun and fired multiple shots, with one bullet said to have grazed Mr Ephron’s knuckles.

Much of the trial hinged on whether the firearm in question was a harmless prop gun, as Mr Mayers’s defence said, or a real weapon capable of causing harm, as Mr Ephron and prosecutors alleged.

The weapon has not been recovered by authorities.

Jurors were able to watch some footage of the altercation because parts were captured on surveillance video, including audio of gunfire, but no video evidence directly showed any shooting.

Mr Ephron took two days before reporting the incident to authorities and brought shell casings he said he had retrieved from the scene.

But police who responded to reports of a shooting in the area did not locate any shell casings. Mr Ephron, who said he returned with his girlfriend hours later, said he knew exactly where to look, but no surveillance footage corroborates his account.

He was not admitted to hospital in Los Angeles and instead went for medical treatment after flying back to New York.

Attorneys for Mr Mayers suggested that Mr Ephron had planted the shell casings to frame the rapper.

The trial was marked by emotional and combative exchanges, particularly when Mr Ephron – the trial’s star witness – took the stand.

At one point, Mr Ephron called Mr Tacopina – a defence attorney for Mr Mayers – “annoying”, which led to a reprimand from the judge.

Another witness, A$AP Twelvyy, was asked by prosecutors about a photograph showing Mr Mayers’s bed with the letters “AWGE” emblazoned on the furniture.

When asked what that stood for, Mr Mayers unexpectedly interrupted the proceedings and yelled, “Don’t say!” Twelvyy ultimately refused to elaborate.

Outbursts from defendants during trials are uncommon, especially in front of a jury.

However, for a criminal suspect on trial to interject and instruct a witness not to answer a prosecutor’s question during cross-examination is something nearly unheard of in a court.

The rapper is set to release his first solo album in nearly a decade and is scheduled to co-headline Los Angeles’ Rolling Loud festival in March 2025.

In May, he is set to co-chair the 2025 Met Gala alongside big names like Anna Wintour, British race car driver Lewis Hamilton, singer Pharrell Williams and basketball superstar LeBron James.

Additionally, he stars alongside Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s upcoming film “Highest 2 Lowest,” slated for a summer release.

His longtime partner, singer Rihanna, has attended court intermittently. She was in the courtroom on Tuesday as the verdict was read.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged by the country’s chief prosecutor with attempting a coup after he was defeated in the 2022 presidential election.

The 69-year-old was handed five charges over the alleged bid to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after a bitter election race.

The prosecutor’s advice will now be considered by the Supreme Court. If accepted, Bolsonaro and 33 others will be formally charged and will have to face trial.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing and says he’s the victim of political persecution.

He was banned from running for office for eight years after being accused of undermining Brazilian democracy by falsely claiming that electronic ballots used in the October 2022 poll were vulnerable to hacking and fraud.

The bitterly fought election was won by an extremely narrow margin by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known more commonly as Lula.

Bolsonaro never publicly acknowledged his defeat and left Brazil for the US two days before Lula was sworn in as president.

On 8 January 2023, his supporters stormed government buildings in the capital Brasilia. Parts of the buildings were ransacked and police arrested 1,500 of the rioters.

Three months ago, the federal police released a report accusing Bolsonaro of playing a lead role in planning and organising an attempted coup – including by proposing the idea to key figures in the military – to stop Lula taking power.

The document charging Bolsonaro says the responsibility for acts that were harmful to democratic order lies with a criminal organisation led by Bolsonaro himself.

In practice, this means legal proceedings are beginning and Bolsonaro will likely face a trial.

One of the charges is for the crime of “armed criminal organisation”, allegedly led by Bolsonaro and his vice-presidential candidate Walter Braga Netto.

“Allied with other individuals, including civilians and military personnel, they attempted to prevent, in a coordinated manner, the result of the 2022 presidential elections from being fulfilled,” Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco said in a statement.

Brazilian media reports that the Supreme Court is expected to proceed with the trial later this year.

Reaction to the prosecutor’s decision shows that the divisions that have marked Brazilian politics for the past decade remain as deep as ever.

Government supporters are celebrating and saying the former president belongs in jail, while the opposition insist he’s innocent.

The focus now is on the impact the Supreme Court decision will have on next year’s presidential election. Recent opinion polls show record levels of rejection for President Lula.

Despite being banned from running for office, Bolsonaro remains a strong political force in Brazil and could use the trial as a platform for his agenda.