Jack Draper pulls out of Australian Open as Brit’s injury troubles continue | Tennis | Sport
Jack Draper has pulled out of next month’s Australian Open through injury. The British No.1 and world No.10 has not played since the US Open at the end of August, when he withdrew from a second-round match against Zizou Bergs due to an arm problem. He was hoping to make his comeback in time for the first Grand Slam of 2026 but will now miss out. He will also skip the United Cup which takes place the week before.
Draper said in a video on X: “Hello everybody, instead of writing out a message, I thought I’d send a little video recording to let you know of my progress. Unfortunately me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year. It’s a really, really tough decision with Australia being a Grand Slam and one of the biggest tournaments in our sport. However I’ve had this injury for a long time. I’m at the very, very end stages of the process. To step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn’t seem like a smart decision for me and my tennis.”
Draper added: “I’ve obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks so far but by far and away, this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging and the most complex one that I’ve had. It’s weird, it always seems to make me more resilient, to make me hungrier to become the player I want to become even more.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there in 2026 and competing. I just want to thank everyone for all the support in 2025. It means the world to me to be competing and to be playing out there on the tour with the other guys. I’m looking forward to doing that again. Take care everyone and thank you for the support.”
The update comes days after Draper was filmed appearing to tell fans that he would be playing in Australia. The 24-year-old enjoyed a strong first half of 2025 which included winning his first ever Masters 1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters, beating Carlos Alcaraz on his way to glory, and rising to a career-high fourth in the world rankings.
But this is not the first time Draper has been dogged by injuries. A shoulder injury sidelined the Brit for two-and-a-half months in 2023 before an abdominal injury hampered him the year after. He also had a hip issue in the build-up to the season just finished.
Draper said in September when it was confirmed his season had come to a premature end that it was “very difficult” to accept. He continued: “However, I’ve been through this before and I always come back stronger as I’m so motivated to fulfil my potential as a player.”
The three-time ATP Tour title winner first felt discomfort in his arm during the clay-court swing. He had scans after the pain got worse and led to a second-round Wimbledon loss to Marin Cilic. He did not hit any serves for a month, and went over two weeks without hitting ground strokes, before travelling to US Open where the pain proved too much.
