Fan removed from Raducanu match

Emma Raducanu said she will be OK after what she called a “difficult experience” related to the presence of a man who had exhibited “fixated behavior” toward her at the Dubai Championships. The 2021 U.S. Open champ had approached the chair umpire early in her second-round match against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday night. She was in tears, and the WTA later linked her reaction to the presence of the unidentified man. On Wednesday, the 22-year-old British player responded with a statement. “Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience but I’ll be okay,” Raducanu, above, wrote. Raducanu, who was a teenager in 2022 when a man in Britain was convicted of stalking her, returned to play after a brief delay at 2-0 down and eventually lost 7-6 (6), 6-4. Wednesday the WTA said Raducanu was approached in a public space Monday “by a man who exhibited fixated behavior” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday ... and subsequently ejected. ... He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”

New low for KU with 34-point loss

Kansas has reached a low point with its uncharacteristic struggles in Big 12 play. The No. 23 Jayhawks lost 91-57 to host BYU on Tuesday night, matching their largest margin of defeat in the tenure of coach Bill Self, left, after previously losing 85-51 to USC in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. It also marked the first time Kansas — the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll — lost by 30-plus points against an unranked team since the poll began in 1948. The Jayhawks haven’t led through their last 80 minutes of basketball after also falling to Utah 74-67 on Saturday. They have lost four of six games since the start of February. “Obviously we’re going to catch a lot of flak, whether it’s fans or national media, and rightfully so because we just lost by damn near 40,” said senior center Hunter Dickinson, who finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds. “Nobody is going to feel bad for us now that NIL is the thing, and players are getting paid and everything like that. Nobody is going to feel bad for you. They’re going to expect you to perform like a paid player.”

Dortmund advances to UCL last 16

Dortmund brought a 3-0 lead into the second leg of its Champions League playoff against visitor Sporting Lisbon and was barely stretched in a 0-0 draw on Wednesday to advance to the last 16. Dortmund, the runner-up last year, will next face either Lille or Aston Villa after the next round’s pairings are made Friday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland. The draw against Sporting moved new manager Niko Kovac’s record with Dortmund to 1-1-2 in all competitions. Kovac, above, replaced Nuri Sahin, who was fired on Jan. 22 with the club struggling in the Champions League and Bundesliga standings. Also on Wednesday, PSV Eindhoven hosted Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Brest, and Real Madrid hosted Manchester City in the other second legs, which ended too late for this edition. Bayern Munich, Benfica, Club Brugge and Feyenoord advanced Tuesday, while Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico, Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa skipped the playoff after finishing in the top eight of the group-play standings. —News services