Emma Raducanu pulls out of long-awaited comeback match

Tennis star Emma Raducanu has pulled out of a planned comeback match next month.

The former US Open champion was set to make a return at the exhibition Macau Tennis Masters event in China but will no longer play as she continues to recover from surgery, her management company IMG said.

The 21-year-old has not played since April after undergoing operations on both wrists and her ankle.

Raducanu had hoped to return to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour this autumn.

Following her injuries, she has plummeted from 68 in the world in April to 289.

Raducanu will be able to use a protected ranking of 103 next year as she has been out of action for over six months and that could earn her a place in the main draw of the Australian Open in January.

The former British number one has stepped up her training in recent weeks at the National Tennis Centre in London, both in the gym and on court.

She spoke last month of her enthusiasm for returning to the circuit.

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"I think the biggest thing from the last few months was how much I missed the sport," Raducanu told BBC Radio 4.

"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."

Raducanu remains without a coach having split from Sebastian Sachs at the beginning of June and is currently working with Lawn Tennis Association staff.

Her last match was a straight-sets defeat to Jelena Ostapenko at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April.