Emma Raducanu’s preparations for next month’s Australian Open have suffered a significant setback after the British teen sensation tested positive for Covid-19.
The 19-year-old, who this year became the first qualifier in history to win the women’s US Open grand slam title, was forced to pull out of this week’s Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi
Britain’s No.1 female star was due to face Olympic champion Belinda Bencic on Thursday in the exhibition tournament, as she begins to ramp up her preparations for the first grand slam tournament of the new year.
Raducanu – who is double-vaccinated and had already travelled to the United Arab Emirates – will now have to complete a period of isolation.
Providing she does not experience any lingering illness, however, the World No.19 should still be able to travel to Australia ahead of the first grand slam tournament of 2022.
