Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Melbourne Summer Set ©Getty Images

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the first Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament of the season, the Melbourne Summer Set, as she recovers from COVID-19.

The US Open champion recently came out of isolation after returning a positive coronavirus test in Abu Dhabi in December.

It resulted in the 19-year-old pulling out of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the Emirati city.

World number 19 Raducanu was scheduled to headline the first of two WTA 250 tournaments in Melbourne from January 4 to 9.

They were intended to act as warm-up events for the Australian Open, which is set to take place from January 17 to 30.

"The timing to compete in the first Melbourne event this week is too soon for me, having just returned from isolation," Raducanu said.

Emma Raducanu had taken part in training sessions in Melbourne before announcing her withdrawal ©Getty Images
Emma Raducanu had taken part in training sessions in Melbourne before announcing her withdrawal ©Getty Images

Her positive test last month meant that she also missed out on attending the Sports Personality of the Year awards as she had to complete ten days of isolation.

Raducanu then flew to Melbourne after completing her isolation and had been on the practice courts ahead of the Summer Set before deciding to withdraw.

She will be hoping that 2022 can be as successful as the previous year, which saw her become the first British woman to win a major since Virginia Wade's Wimbledon triumph in 1977.

Ranked 343 at the start of 2021, Raducanu finished the year as only the fifth British woman to make it into the world's top 20 despite playing in just 10 tournaments.