- Emma Raducanu had planned to return at an exhibition tournament in Macau
- The tournament on December 2 would have been a low-pressure environment
- She has yet to play since undergoing surgery on her wrists and ankle in April
Emma Raducanu has marked her 21st birthday by confirming that she will not be ready to play in what was scheduled to be her comeback event next month, an exhibition tournament in Macau starting on December 2.
The former US Open champion had pencilled in the trip to Asia to take her first competitive steps back on court in a low-pressure environment ahead of January’s new season.
Yet, as reported by Mail Sport at the weekend, she is not ready to return for what would have been her first match of any kind since April, after which she underwent surgery to her wrists and ankle.
A spokesperson for her management explained that she had been asked to commit by the organisers several weeks ago to the event but, while keen to play, had been unable to guarantee her attendance and so withdrawn to give them time to find a replacement.
Emma Raducanu has confirmed she will not return to the tennis court as planned next month
The disappointing setback was confirmed on Raducanu’s 21st birthday, which saw a lot of the tennis star’s close friends and family members wish her many happy returns on Instagram
The plan remains for her to play in the opening weeks of the season in Australasia, but Raducanu has not been entered in to any other exhibition events before that.
She has been unable to build any sort of proper hitting hours on court yet, although there are still nearly seven weeks to go before everything kicks off again.
She has yet to assemble any kind of a bespoke tennis team around her in terms of a coach, physio or fitness trainer since parting with German Sebastian Sachs earlier in the summer.
The former US Open champion underwent surgery on her wrists and ankle earlier this year
Raducanu took to social media in April to share a photo of herself after her third operation