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Emma Raducanu’s experience of a stalker in Dubai should not be considered a security failure, says the chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association.

The Briton was left in tears after seeing a man who had followed her to four successive tournaments in the stands during her match against Karolina Muchova in February.

The man, who was removed from the stands and later given a restraining order by Dubai police, had given Raducanu a letter and asked for a photo in a coffee shop the previous day.

The 22-year-old told BBC Sport she believes the incident could have been dealt with better, although her anxiety about the individual was not relayed to the WTA until the following day.

Portia Archer, who became the new WTA chief executive in June, described it as a “very unfortunate series of events”.

“The WTA has invested a great deal of resources into the safety and wellbeing of our players and it’s a priority for the organisation”, Archer told BBC Sport.

“I wouldn’t call it a security failure at all. As soon as we became aware of the threat, we acted immediately.

A number of players have spoken about the abuse they receive online, with Sloane Stephens saying she received more than 2, 000 abusive messages after her US Open loss in 2021.

Stephanie Hilborne, the chief executive of the Women in Sport charity, spoke last month of the” need to stop inadvertently overexposing elite female athletes. “

Archer believes athletes should be free to share whatever they like on social media and not feel restricted by the risk of a” bad actor taking advantage of that”.

” I think we delve into the wrong territory by somehow blaming it on an athlete for sharing information about themselves, “Archer said.

” Players can use their judgement and decide how – and how much of themselves – they want to express.

Archer also addressed the suspension of Stefano Vukov, the former coach of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The Czech has been banned for an undisclosed period by the WTA following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.

Vukov, who is currently unable to access accredited areas at tournaments, has denied any wrongdoing.

Rybakina has said she was never mistreated by the Croat and would like him to be able to resume full coaching duties.

“We are able to offer support and advice to Elena”, Archer said.

“Our responsibility is to Elena as well as to the hundreds of other WTA players and it’s really important that we keep our environment safe.

” This is the workplace of my staff, our athletes and it is a place where fans come to enjoy our sport.

“That is what is at the forefront of my mind – we have to keep our environment safe.

On the streets they call him ‘ Kego’. The one-time wonderkid left to train alone in a concrete wilderness of city towerblock staircases. A cage footballer for hire, a pick-up game artist on speed dial. The embers of his professional dream still flickering in a footballing underworld.

Kevin Gonzalez Quintero was once Jude Bellingham’s England room-mate, played in the same youth teams as Jamal Musiala and Harvey Elliott and was the guy a young Jhon Duran would ask for boots.

“Jude, he is a great lad”, remembers Kego. “He is very chill, a great person on and off the pitch. You can see why he is where he is today. Since that very young age he has had that leadership. Very mature”.

His father once played for Deportivo Cali, but Kego’s parents packed up and left a Colombia that he says was in the grip of Pablo Escobar and the nation’s drug cartels to swap South America for a new life in south London before he was born.

That allowed Kego to shine in front of Crystal Palace scouts, joining the Eagles aged eight and later winning their academy player of the year.

After a decade with Palace he believed he was destined for the Premier League and life on the international stage. As well as England, Kego represented Colombia at youth level.

“It was a dream”, he says. “I always wanted to play for Colombia. Duran was there with me. He is a funny guy.

” He has always been good, but he wasn’t banging in goals like that. Which shows his dedication, his time. It worked out for him. I’m very happy for him, too. He deserves it, I saw how hard it was for him.

“I remember him asking me for football boots. Just seeing him now is like ‘ wow, you have grown so much and I am proud of you, man'”.

Those players have gone on to represent some of the world’s biggest clubs – Bellingham at Real Madrid, Musiala at Bayern Munich and Elliott at Liverpool, while former Aston Villa striker Duran is making his fortune in Saudi Arabia.

But for Kego, it didn’t work out like that.

He was released by Palace at 18 and, via false dawns and broken promises, spent four years travelling the world, trialling in 14 different countries, yearning for a professional contract.

So what went wrong for Kego at Crystal Palace? He was offered an extension, he says, but it did not materialise.

“I got different advice that I shouldn’t have listened to”, recalls Kego. “Two months later, they just told me ‘ Look, Kevin, we’re not going to guarantee you any game time for next year, you’re better off looking for other teams. You’re a very good player, we believe you can start your professional career elsewhere’.

” I was very down, 10 years here and then just like that, gone.

“A few agents, they lied to me. Saying ‘ listen, we have got this club for you and this club’. They sell you the world. But when it came to the time, nothing happened. That was really upsetting”.

He was caught in a spiral of failed trials and wasted journeys – Hungary, Spain, even Brazil.

“Before you know it, you’re six months without a club, then a year, then it carries on going”, adds Kego. “They start questioning your ability. Often I heard from clubs ‘ Oh, but he’s been out for six months, oh, two years now’.

” Then when I did get the chance, I would be so mentally drained, to the point I couldn’t focus. And when I was there, there would be another agent telling me ‘ listen, I’ve got you a first-team game’.

“I went to another team in Spain. The agent sorted the travel and everything, but when I got there, he blocked me. I didn’t hear from him again and I was left stranded”.

At the same time, his mum became seriously ill and needed the support of Kego and his father.

To stay prepared for an opportunity, Kego would train relentlessly on his own.

“It almost felt like a prison cell”, he explains. “You wake up, you train, you see the same surroundings over and over again. Four years, the same thing.

” I would wake up, I would see bricks, blocks. It’s mad. Going from seeing grass, everything is cut for you, you have got new balls – now I am maybe playing with a flat football, playing with a tennis ball or a golf ball.

“It’s called the towerblock in my area. Every day I would be running up the stairs, training with my dad. I would even go to the park, on an 11-a-side pitch, I would start passing the ball to imaginary team-mates and then I would go and chase after the ball myself. It wasn’t easy, but you have to work with what you have”.

But it was not just a physical battle. He could eat well and run until the sun came up – and friends say they would get calls at 4am to do just that – but mentally, with no end in sight, the churn was taxing.

“When you’re not at a team you’re getting frustrated because you know your talent, you know that you can do that, that you’re a good player, you have played with the best before”, says Kego. “Mentally it is killing you”.

Kego says he went “deep inside my mind”. He tried new things – he practises Simran meditation and, as a Christian, studies the Bible and prays.

But he also found salvation on the streets, with a ball at his feet.

“Street football is what gives you that tempo”, he beams. “Short spaces. You have got to think quick. It really helped me. It gave me a lot of confidence. I was like ‘ you know what, if I can do it in this short space, imagine a bigger space'”.

Kego built a reputation in cage tournaments and pick-up games, becoming renowned in street football circles and even earning a deal with Puma.

“Everyone knew if they wanted to win with style, call him”, laughs Gundeep Anand, the founder of street football tournament The Last Stand.

Ibarra, from Tenerife, play in the fifth tier but are pushing for promotion and showing ambition. They recently appointed Diego Maradona Jr as head coach.

“He passed the ball to me and I said ‘ what, wait,]it’s like] his dad is passing the ball to me'”, Kego remembers of their first meeting on the training pitch. “It’s a bit mad. I was watching his dad’s YouTube videos and then his son is passing the ball to me.

” The way they walk, they have a similar look. It’s very motivating. “

The forward is waiting to make his debut and Maradona Jr is keen to see the youngster kickstart his career in the Canary Islands.

” We needed a player like him, “he says”. Quick. Good technically, and had some experience in professional teams like Crystal Palace, the Colombian national team.

“He can bring speed to the game. A player who can score many goals and who understands the game.

” We hope he can bring a different mentality that we are trying to change with the team and the club. “

Kego describes joining Ibarra as” relief”. Now, he says”, it’s time to shine”.

” I was buzzing, excited, very emotional as well, “he adds.

” All these years of work, I would never have thought I would make it pro at 22. If I’m honest, I said let me just dedicate myself to playing street football. “

That is one dream accomplished, but what comes next?

” I always think big, “he smiles”. Short term is smash it here, do my best, focus and try and get many goals and get the club promotion.

On the streets they call him ‘ Kego’. The one-time wonderkid left to train alone in a concrete wilderness of city towerblock staircases. A cage footballer for hire, a pick-up game artist on speed dial. The embers of his professional dream still flickering in a footballing underworld.

Kevin Gonzalez Quintero was once Jude Bellingham’s England room-mate, played in the same youth teams as Jamal Musiala and Harvey Elliott and was the guy a young Jhon Duran would ask for boots.

“Jude, he is a great lad”, remembers Kego. “He is very chill, a great person on and off the pitch. You can see why he is where he is today. Since that very young age he has had that leadership. Very mature”.

His father once played for Deportivo Cali, but Kego’s parents packed up and left a Colombia that he says was in the grip of Pablo Escobar and the nation’s drug cartels to swap South America for a new life in south London before he was born.

That allowed Kego to shine in front of Crystal Palace scouts, joining the Eagles aged eight and later winning their academy player of the year.

After a decade with Palace he believed he was destined for the Premier League and life on the international stage. As well as England, Kego represented Colombia at youth level.

“It was a dream”, he says. “I always wanted to play for Colombia. Duran was there with me. He is a funny guy.

” He has always been good, but he wasn’t banging in goals like that. Which shows his dedication, his time. It worked out for him. I’m very happy for him, too. He deserves it, I saw how hard it was for him.

“I remember him asking me for football boots. Just seeing him now is like ‘ wow, you have grown so much and I am proud of you, man'”.

Those players have gone on to represent some of the world’s biggest clubs – Bellingham at Real Madrid, Musiala at Bayern Munich and Elliott at Liverpool, while former Aston Villa striker Duran is making his fortune in Saudi Arabia.

But for Kego, it didn’t work out like that.

He was released by Palace at 18 and, via false dawns and broken promises, spent four years travelling the world, trialling in 14 different countries, yearning for a professional contract.

So what went wrong for Kego at Crystal Palace? He was offered an extension, he says, but it did not materialise.

“I got different advice that I shouldn’t have listened to”, recalls Kego. “Two months later, they just told me ‘ Look, Kevin, we’re not going to guarantee you any game time for next year, you’re better off looking for other teams. You’re a very good player, we believe you can start your professional career elsewhere’.

” I was very down, 10 years here and then just like that, gone.

“A few agents, they lied to me. Saying ‘ listen, we have got this club for you and this club’. They sell you the world. But when it came to the time, nothing happened. That was really upsetting”.

He was caught in a spiral of failed trials and wasted journeys – Hungary, Spain, even Brazil.

“Before you know it, you’re six months without a club, then a year, then it carries on going”, adds Kego. “They start questioning your ability. Often I heard from clubs ‘ Oh, but he’s been out for six months, oh, two years now’.

” Then when I did get the chance, I would be so mentally drained, to the point I couldn’t focus. And when I was there, there would be another agent telling me ‘ listen, I’ve got you a first-team game’.

“I went to another team in Spain. The agent sorted the travel and everything, but when I got there, he blocked me. I didn’t hear from him again and I was left stranded”.

At the same time, his mum became seriously ill and needed the support of Kego and his father.

To stay prepared for an opportunity, Kego would train relentlessly on his own.

“It almost felt like a prison cell”, he explains. “You wake up, you train, you see the same surroundings over and over again. Four years, the same thing.

” I would wake up, I would see bricks, blocks. It’s mad. Going from seeing grass, everything is cut for you, you have got new balls – now I am maybe playing with a flat football, playing with a tennis ball or a golf ball.

“It’s called the towerblock in my area. Every day I would be running up the stairs, training with my dad. I would even go to the park, on an 11-a-side pitch, I would start passing the ball to imaginary team-mates and then I would go and chase after the ball myself. It wasn’t easy, but you have to work with what you have”.

But it was not just a physical battle. He could eat well and run until the sun came up – and friends say they would get calls at 4am to do just that – but mentally, with no end in sight, the churn was taxing.

“When you’re not at a team you’re getting frustrated because you know your talent, you know that you can do that, that you’re a good player, you have played with the best before”, says Kego. “Mentally it is killing you”.

Kego says he went “deep inside my mind”. He tried new things – he practises Simran meditation and, as a Christian, studies the Bible and prays.

But he also found salvation on the streets, with a ball at his feet.

“Street football is what gives you that tempo”, he beams. “Short spaces. You have got to think quick. It really helped me. It gave me a lot of confidence. I was like ‘ you know what, if I can do it in this short space, imagine a bigger space'”.

Kego built a reputation in cage tournaments and pick-up games, becoming renowned in street football circles and even earning a deal with Puma.

“Everyone knew if they wanted to win with style, call him”, laughs Gundeep Anand, the founder of street football tournament The Last Stand.

Ibarra, from Tenerife, play in the fifth tier but are pushing for promotion and showing ambition. They recently appointed Diego Maradona Jr as head coach.

“He passed the ball to me and I said ‘ what, wait,]it’s like] his dad is passing the ball to me'”, Kego remembers of their first meeting on the training pitch. “It’s a bit mad. I was watching his dad’s YouTube videos and then his son is passing the ball to me.

” The way they walk, they have a similar look. It’s very motivating. “

The forward is waiting to make his debut and Maradona Jr is keen to see the youngster kickstart his career in the Canary Islands.

” We needed a player like him, “he says”. Quick. Good technically, and had some experience in professional teams like Crystal Palace, the Colombian national team.

“He can bring speed to the game. A player who can score many goals and who understands the game.

” We hope he can bring a different mentality that we are trying to change with the team and the club. “

Kego describes joining Ibarra as” relief”. Now, he says”, it’s time to shine”.

” I was buzzing, excited, very emotional as well, “he adds.

” All these years of work, I would never have thought I would make it pro at 22. If I’m honest, I said let me just dedicate myself to playing street football. “

That is one dream accomplished, but what comes next?

” I always think big, “he smiles”. Short term is smash it here, do my best, focus and try and get many goals and get the club promotion.

On the streets they call him ‘ Kego’. The one-time wonderkid left to train alone in a concrete wilderness of city towerblock staircases. A cage footballer for hire, a pick-up game artist on speed dial. The embers of his professional dream still flickering in a footballing underworld.

Kevin Gonzalez Quintero was once Jude Bellingham’s England room-mate, played in the same youth teams as Jamal Musiala and Harvey Elliott and was the guy a young Jhon Duran would ask for boots.

“Jude, he is a great lad”, remembers Kego. “He is very chill, a great person on and off the pitch. You can see why he is where he is today. Since that very young age he has had that leadership. Very mature”.

His father once played for Deportivo Cali, but Kego’s parents packed up and left a Colombia that he says was in the grip of Pablo Escobar and the nation’s drug cartels to swap South America for a new life in south London before he was born.

That allowed Kego to shine in front of Crystal Palace scouts, joining the Eagles aged eight and later winning their academy player of the year.

After a decade with Palace he believed he was destined for the Premier League and life on the international stage. As well as England, Kego represented Colombia at youth level.

“It was a dream”, he says. “I always wanted to play for Colombia. Duran was there with me. He is a funny guy.

” He has always been good, but he wasn’t banging in goals like that. Which shows his dedication, his time. It worked out for him. I’m very happy for him, too. He deserves it, I saw how hard it was for him.

“I remember him asking me for football boots. Just seeing him now is like ‘ wow, you have grown so much and I am proud of you, man'”.

Those players have gone on to represent some of the world’s biggest clubs – Bellingham at Real Madrid, Musiala at Bayern Munich and Elliott at Liverpool, while former Aston Villa striker Duran is making his fortune in Saudi Arabia.

But for Kego, it didn’t work out like that.

He was released by Palace at 18 and, via false dawns and broken promises, spent four years travelling the world, trialling in 14 different countries, yearning for a professional contract.

So what went wrong for Kego at Crystal Palace? He was offered an extension, he says, but it did not materialise.

“I got different advice that I shouldn’t have listened to”, recalls Kego. “Two months later, they just told me ‘ Look, Kevin, we’re not going to guarantee you any game time for next year, you’re better off looking for other teams. You’re a very good player, we believe you can start your professional career elsewhere’.

” I was very down, 10 years here and then just like that, gone.

“A few agents, they lied to me. Saying ‘ listen, we have got this club for you and this club’. They sell you the world. But when it came to the time, nothing happened. That was really upsetting”.

He was caught in a spiral of failed trials and wasted journeys – Hungary, Spain, even Brazil.

“Before you know it, you’re six months without a club, then a year, then it carries on going”, adds Kego. “They start questioning your ability. Often I heard from clubs ‘ Oh, but he’s been out for six months, oh, two years now’.

” Then when I did get the chance, I would be so mentally drained, to the point I couldn’t focus. And when I was there, there would be another agent telling me ‘ listen, I’ve got you a first-team game’.

“I went to another team in Spain. The agent sorted the travel and everything, but when I got there, he blocked me. I didn’t hear from him again and I was left stranded”.

At the same time, his mum became seriously ill and needed the support of Kego and his father.

To stay prepared for an opportunity, Kego would train relentlessly on his own.

“It almost felt like a prison cell”, he explains. “You wake up, you train, you see the same surroundings over and over again. Four years, the same thing.

” I would wake up, I would see bricks, blocks. It’s mad. Going from seeing grass, everything is cut for you, you have got new balls – now I am maybe playing with a flat football, playing with a tennis ball or a golf ball.

“It’s called the towerblock in my area. Every day I would be running up the stairs, training with my dad. I would even go to the park, on an 11-a-side pitch, I would start passing the ball to imaginary team-mates and then I would go and chase after the ball myself. It wasn’t easy, but you have to work with what you have”.

But it was not just a physical battle. He could eat well and run until the sun came up – and friends say they would get calls at 4am to do just that – but mentally, with no end in sight, the churn was taxing.

“When you’re not at a team you’re getting frustrated because you know your talent, you know that you can do that, that you’re a good player, you have played with the best before”, says Kego. “Mentally it is killing you”.

Kego says he went “deep inside my mind”. He tried new things – he practises Simran meditation and, as a Christian, studies the Bible and prays.

But he also found salvation on the streets, with a ball at his feet.

“Street football is what gives you that tempo”, he beams. “Short spaces. You have got to think quick. It really helped me. It gave me a lot of confidence. I was like ‘ you know what, if I can do it in this short space, imagine a bigger space'”.

Kego built a reputation in cage tournaments and pick-up games, becoming renowned in street football circles and even earning a deal with Puma.

“Everyone knew if they wanted to win with style, call him”, laughs Gundeep Anand, the founder of street football tournament The Last Stand.

Ibarra, from Tenerife, play in the fifth tier but are pushing for promotion and showing ambition. They recently appointed Diego Maradona Jr as head coach.

“He passed the ball to me and I said ‘ what, wait,]it’s like] his dad is passing the ball to me'”, Kego remembers of their first meeting on the training pitch. “It’s a bit mad. I was watching his dad’s YouTube videos and then his son is passing the ball to me.

” The way they walk, they have a similar look. It’s very motivating. “

The forward is waiting to make his debut and Maradona Jr is keen to see the youngster kickstart his career in the Canary Islands.

” We needed a player like him, “he says”. Quick. Good technically, and had some experience in professional teams like Crystal Palace, the Colombian national team.

“He can bring speed to the game. A player who can score many goals and who understands the game.

” We hope he can bring a different mentality that we are trying to change with the team and the club. “

Kego describes joining Ibarra as” relief”. Now, he says”, it’s time to shine”.

” I was buzzing, excited, very emotional as well, “he adds.

” All these years of work, I would never have thought I would make it pro at 22. If I’m honest, I said let me just dedicate myself to playing street football. “

That is one dream accomplished, but what comes next?

” I always think big, “he smiles”. Short term is smash it here, do my best, focus and try and get many goals and get the club promotion.

Star duo Luka Doncic and LeBron James combined again as the LA Lakers extended their winning streak to eight games by defeating the New York Knicks 113-109 in overtime.

Recent signing Doncic scored 32 points while the NBA’s all-time leading scorer James added 31 as the Lakers came from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win.

Doncic, who also had 12 assists and eight rebounds, scored five points in overtime as the Lakers improved to 9-2 record since he made his debut last month.

Steph Curry starred again with another basket from near the halfway line as the Golden State Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-119.

Curry was 38 feet from the basket with 0.3 seconds left in the first half when he turned and scored, on his way to a 40-point haul.

“Most people can make that shot luckily”, team-mate Draymond Green said. “We all knew that shot was going in. That’s a different thing. It’s like watching Cirque du Soleil or something”.

“That one, that’s not in the practice routine”, Curry said.

“It did surprise me, though. That’s why I just ran to the locker room”.