Emma Raducanu delays return from hand and ankle injuries after withdrawing from exhibition match in Macau

Emma Raducanu has delayed her return from injury by pulling out of an exhibition match in Macau in December.

Raducanu has not played since her Stuttgart Open defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in April, with the China match coming too soon for the 21-year-old.

Having not played for over six months, Raducanu will have a protected ranking of 103 when she returns to action next year despite falling to 289th place.

She plans to return in January with enough time to compete in the main draw of the Australian Open, with wild card opportunities available at WTA Tour events in Brisbane and Auckland – where she sustained the ankle injury – during the opening week of the season.

She featured in nine matches from January to April before addressing the ankle issue as well as the hand pain she had suffered with since the end of the 2022 campaign, undergoing operations for both within days of each other.

Raducanu is currently working with LTA staff for both fitness and physio after splitting with Andy Murray’s former strength and conditioning coach Jez Green after a brief spell together.

Speaking to the BBC last month, Raducanu seemed eager for a return.

“I think the biggest thing from the last few months was how much I missed the sport,” she said.

“I think that was the standout thing – how much I missed training, how much I missed my body hurting and feeling tired and dragging yourself through certain exercises when you don’t feel like it.”