By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, November 13, 2023
Emma Raducanu has stepped out of next month's Macau Tennis Masters exhibition.
Raducanu, who celebrates her 21st birthday today, November 13th, is still targeting a 2024 comeback but withdrew from the Macau Tennis Masters exhibition set for December 2-3rd.
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Rehabbing from ankle surgery and surgeries to both wrists she underwent in May, a recovering Raducanu aims to make a competitive comeback in 2024.
The 2021 US Open champion was limited to 10 matches this season due to the ankle and wrist issues. Raducanu has not played since a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart last April.
Injury-induced inactivity has caused Raducanu's ranking to plummet to No. 289 though she can launch her comeback next year with a protected ranking. Currently, Raducanu is training without an official coaching team surrounding her.
"Next season I'll be back," Raducanu told BBC last month. "This season all the slams were finished so it was difficult to watch them go by but I was trying to stay in my lane as much as possible and keep focused on my recovery."
The MGM Macau Tennis Masters is set for December 2-3rd at the Macau East Asia Games Dome, the largest indoor sports facility in the city.
The ATP headliners that will take to court in Macau include American former world No.5 Taylor Fritz, world No.21 Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, top Croatian Borna Coric, as well as Chinese rising star Zhang Zhizhen. Former world No.8 Daria Kasatkina and Chinese youngster Wang Xinyu are the WTA stars that will be joining this illustrious field of players.
“We are delighted to be featuring a fascinating mix of established players such as Fritz, Coric and Kasatkina along with rising stars Griekspoor, Zhang and Wang at the inaugural MGM Macau Tennis Masters,” Tournament Director and Senior Vice President of Tennis Events for IMG, Luiz Carvalho said. “We are looking forward to many thrilling contests between these players hailing from all corners of the globe, while igniting some friendly rivalry with a special China vs Europe mixed doubles match.”
Photo credit: Matthew Calves