Emma Raducanu withdraws from Macau Tennis Masters exhibition as she celebrates 21st birthday
- Briton says she is ‘looking forward to the next chapter’, as she plots injury comeback after ‘challenging year’
- Raducanu has played just nine matches in 2023, and underwent surgeries on both of her hands and her left ankle in May
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu has pulled out of an exhibition match next month at the Macau Tennis Masters, as she continues to recover from wrist and ankle surgery, her management company IMG said on Monday.
The two-day indoor hard court tournament at the Macau East Asian Games Dome over December 2 and 3 is set to feature four top ATP men’s players in American Taylor Fritz, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, Croatia’s Borna Coric and the rising Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen.
On the women’s side, former world No 8 Daria Kasatkina and Chinese youngster Wang Xinyu were set to play alongside Raducanu, who was poised to return to action after injuries during her first event of the season in Auckland needed surgeries on both her hands and left ankle in May.
But, on her 21st birthday, she decided to extend her time on the sidelines.
The Briton, who won her maiden grand slam title at Flushing Meadows in New York as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021, has not played since April, missing the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
“Turned 21 with the best,” she wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “Thank you so much for all the sweet wishes. Regardless of a challenging year there is a lot to be grateful for. Looking forward to the next chapter.”
