Australian Open doubts for Emma Raducanu as she pulls out from warm-up tournament
- Planet Sport writer
- 1 January 2022
The US Open champion has withdrawn from an Australian Open warm-up tournament in Melbourne as she continues to recover from coronavirus.
Raducanu was due to play in the Melbourne Summer Set as part of her preparations for her debut in the Australian grand slam.
However, the 19-year-old - who also pulled out from an exhibition in Abu Dhabi last month after contracting the virus - said the first warm-up event had come too soon.
Raducanu told organisers: "The timing to compete in the first Melbourne event this week is too soon for me, having just returned from isolation."
The teenager received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award whilst in isolation before Christmas, and was made an MBE in the New Year Honours List.
However, since her triumph at the US Open, things haven't gone as well for the player on the court.
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Melbourne Summer Set saying: “The timing to compete in the first Melbourne event this week is too soon for me, having just returned from isolation.” Look forward to seeing you compete later this month @EmmaRaducanu 💙
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 1, 2022
Raducanu has played five matches since the final at Flushing Meadows and three of them ended in defeats.
What's more, she also endured a coaching change as Torben Beltz was brought in to replace Andrew Richardson.
