Google News Milos Raonic reveals surprising reason for Hong Kong withdrawal amid injury concerns
by DZEVAD MESIC
Milos Raonic reveals that he isn't dealing with an injury but that he withdrew from the Hong Kong Open after the tournament organizers refused to give him a main draw wildcard. Raonic, a former world No. 3, was out for nearly two full years before returning to tennis in June.
Last week, it was announced that 2016 Wimbledon finalist Raonic pulled out of the Hong Kong Open, which is scheduled to take place between January 01-07. Raonic's withdrawal led to some speculating and wondering if the Canadian is again dealing with an injury.
But when addressing his withdrawal, Raonic explained that he did not want to use one of his protected ranking spots for an ATP 250 tournament. Instead, Raonic plans to play a few matches at the Kooyong exhibition before going to the Australian Open.
Raonic explains his Hong Kong withdrawal
"I'll go straight down to Melbourne. I was hoping to play actually in Hong Kong, and I just made kind of a rational decision. I requested at the event, a wildcard, I didn't want to use one of my protected spots for a 250. Ultimately that didn't work out. So I decided to not play Hong Kong. I'll play actually Kooyong to get a few matches in that way I don't use up my protected slots for 250 and then get ready to play Melbourne. Luckily for me, I've always been actually pretty good at playing without too many prep matches. So the most important thing for me was over these last few months to get in some good training and put in some good time in the gym and on court and really be able to go full out there," Raonic said on the Match Point Canada.
Raonic, now 32 years old, appeared in four tournaments after returning to tennis in the second part of 2023. Raonic also played one match for Canada at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.