British tennis player Emma Raducanu due to make her match return in New Zealand
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Raducanu is expected to return to tennis competitions in January
British tennis player Emma Raducanu will soon be making a comeback to high-level tennis competitions.
The 2021 US Open champion hasn't played a match since April after struggling with injuries and has had three operations on both of her wrists and her ankle this year.
Her absence from the sport means Raducanu has fallen to 296 in the world rankings, but she now has an opportunity to make her mark in the tennis world once again.
She'll be playing at the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland, New Zealand next month, alongside the 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff and the former world number one Caroline Wozniacki who are also in the line-up.
Raducanu, who is 21, was awarded a wildcard to take part in January's competition, which means she's able to compete without having to take part in qualifying matches, and without having to be ranked at a particular level.
The women's tournament begins on 1 January and will run until the 7.
Until recently, there were doubts over whether Raducanu would make next year's tournament, but those fears have eased in recent weeks as she has increased her training.
She had been hoping to play at an event in Macau last weekend, but withdrew last month as she was not sure she would be ready in time.
Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 when she was just 19
Emma Raducanu began playing tennis when she was just five-years-old.
She started playing for Team GB juniors when she was 14 and in 2017, she made her first appearance at a junior grand slam event - Wimbledon. She became the British junior number one when she was 15.
In September 2021, Emma Raducanu made history when she became the first UK female to win one of tennis' big tournaments for more than 40 years. She also became the youngest British player to win a grand slam title at the US Open.
Her impressive performance at the competition saw her rise to British No.1 and inside the top-25 rankings for the first time in her career.
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"I will be coming back with probably a lower ranking, but I'm actually looking forward to starting again, kind of resetting," Raducanu said in a BBC interview earlier this year.
"I already have that in the bank, so now I can keep going and keep building from here. I still have new goals, new things I want to achieve.
"But I've still got like 15 years left in my career, so there's no rush."
Her sights are set on making a return to competitive sport in New Zealand in January
Although Raducanu will be taking part in the ASB Classic, she won't be able to compete in the Australian Open - which takes place from the 14-28 January - unless she either qualifies, is given a wildcard, or if several higher ranked players drop out.
The tennis player has what's known as a protected ranking, which allows players who haven't competed for a long time to re-enter events at the ranking they were at when they were last given money at an event.
However, Raducanu's protected ranking of 103 isn't enough to play at the US Open, which is being held in Melbourne next month.
If Raducanu doesn't qualify for the Australian Open, she might take the opportunity to play elsewhere.
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