Here is who won MGM Macau Tennis Masters after Emma Raducanu's withdrawal

12/05/2023 03:10 PM

The MGM Macau Tennis Masters organizers didn't get to have an Emma Raducanu-Belinda Bencic match but they found replacements as Daria Kasatkina beat Wang Xinyu to win the title. In July, it was announced that 2021 US Open champion Raducanu would be taking on Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Bencic in the Macau exhibition. Last month, British media reported that Raducanu was highly unlikely to play and the Briton ended up withdrawing from the tournament due to precautionary reasons. On the other side, Bencic announced her pregnancy in November. The organizers had to act quickly and they signed up world No 18 Kasatkina and 36th-ranked Wang. This past weekend, Kasatkina won the inaugural Macau edition after beating Wang 6-4 6-4. 

After undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her right ankle in May, Raducanu missed the entire second half of the 2023 season. When Raducanu signed up to play in Macau, the expectation was that the Briton would play again in early December in an exhibition match. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. According to reports that were coming out of Great Britain last month, Raducanu didn't suffer any major setbacks but she just decided to delay her comeback due to precautionary reasons. In October, Raducanu confirmed that she will return to the Tour in 2024. "I will be coming back with probably a lower ranking, but I'm actually looking forward to starting again, kind of resetting. 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," Raducanu told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. While many players have already confirmed where they will be starting their 2024 season, Raducanu hasn't yet made any official announcements. It remains to be seen if Raducanu will be able to return at the very start of the 2024 season.