- Emma Raducanu’s planned charity match with Naomi Osaka has been canceled
- Osaka initially withdrew, before being replaced, before Raducanu withdrew
- Raducanu is expected to make his first Grand Slam appearance in Australia in a year
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from a planned charity match just days before the start of the Australian Open.
The upcoming Australian Open marks Raducanu’s first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament in a year after an eight-month nightmare derailed her last year.
The Briton returned to the court last week at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, losing to Elina Svitolina in three sets in the second round.
She was also expected to play in a charity match against Naomi Osaka before reports emerged that the 21-year-old had to withdraw as a precaution.
According to BBC SportsRaducanu withdrew from the event after waking up and feeling a “little soreness” after a two-hour workout last night.
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from a charity match ahead of the start of the Australian Open
Raducanu was also scheduled to face Naomi Osaka, who also withdrew from the match
The British star and former world number 1 Osaka were due to face off at Rod Laver Arena ahead of the start of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Osaka had already withdrawn from the charity match – before being replaced by Donna Vekic – before Raducanu withdrew.
Osaka’s first tournament since becoming a mother ended in a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 second-round defeat to three-time champion Karolina Pliskova at the Brisbane International last Tuesday.
Osaka, who has won the Australian Open and US Open singles titles twice, won her first match at the elite level since late 2022 in straight sets against Tamara Korpatsch on Monday.
After that win, she said the July birth of her daughter Shai and the changes in her mindset since becoming a mother had given her a better perspective on tennis.
A second-round meeting with two former No. 1 players was a step up in pace and a better indication of how Osaka’s preparations are going for the Australian Open starting Jan. 14 in Melbourne.
The Australian Open is Raducanu’s first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament in a year
Raducanu has now joined forces with youth coach Nick Cavaday a week before the start of the Australian Open.
The 2021 US Open champion worked with Cavaday when she was a junior and last week decided to appoint the 37-year-old as her coach for the first major of the season – her ninth in the past 27 months.
Cavaday spent four and a half years at the LTA Academy in Loughborough as head coach before leaving the role in April. Since then he has coached 18-year-old British player Ranah Stoiber.
He coached Raducanu as a young teenager and worked with her at Roehampton’s National Tennis Center before Christmas.