Raducanu stalker blocked from Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — The man accused of stalking tennis player Emma Raducanu tried to obtain tickets to Wimbledon but was blocked by the All England Club’s security system, British media reported Tuesday.

The BBC and others reported that the man tried to apply for tickets through the public ballot for the Grand Slam tournament that starts June 30. His name had been red-flagged.

At the Dubai Championships in February, the man exhibited ” fixated behavior ” toward the 22-year-old Raducanu, who became distressed during a match when she noticed him in the crowd.

A day earlier, he had left her a letter and took her photograph, which unnerved the 2021 U.S. Open champion.

After seeing the man in the stands, Raducanu took shelter behind the umpire’s chair during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova. Raducanu later said she ” couldn’t see the ball through tears ” and struggled to breathe before approaching the umpire.

The man was ejected from the tournament. He was later detained by Dubai police and signed a document pledging to “maintain distance” from Raducanu, who is ranked No. 36.

Wrestling coming to Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) — Real American Freestyle wrestling’s inaugural event will be held at the 13,000-seat Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 30, commissioner Hulk Hogan said in a statement.

“Cleveland is an incredible city, and Real American Freestyle is channeling its rock and roll style into this first event,” he said.

The first set of matches and the location for the new promotion’s first event were announced Wednesday. The first two women’s matches are American Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Mexico’s Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra and American Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades vs. Mexico’s Alejandra Rivera Arriaga.

The men’s matches so far are Real Woods vs. Darrion Caldwell and Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer.

The format will include eight men’s and four women’s matches. Major signings have included American Olympic medalists Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and Aaron Brooks and NCAA heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson.

Pirates, Tigers postponed

DETROIT (AP) — The scheduled game between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night was postponed due to the forecast for inclement weather.

Heavy rain hit the Detroit area early Wednesday afternoon, and with heavy storms expected during the evening, the game was called off about two hours before the scheduled first pitch.

The game will be played as a part of a split doubleheader on Thursday, with the first game scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and the second at 5:40 p.m.

Two of baseball’s top starting pitchers — Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes — are scheduled to pitch on Thursday, but will not face each other.

Skubal (7-2, 1.99 ERA) will face Pittsburgh left-hander Andrew Heaney (3-5, 3.33) in the first game. Skenes (4-6, 1.78) will go against a Tigers opener in the nightcap.