Jack Draper believes a medical assessment that gave him the all-clear to play in this year’s US Open wasn’t fully accurate, as he aims to return to top form in 2026.
The British No.1 ended his season early due to bone bruising in his left arm and has only played one Tour-level match since his shock second round loss to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon, which was at the US Open, where he defeated Federico Agustin Gomez in the first round before withdrawing from the tournament.
Draper’s recent injury setback occurred during what has been a breakout season for the 23-year-old, who reached a ranking high of No.4 in June. In March, he won his biggest title to date at the Indian Wells Masters before reaching the final of another Masters 1000 event in Madrid two months later. Draper was also runner-up at the Qatar Open in February to Andrey Rublev, which is an ATP 500 tournament.
“I had to come back and find out what was going on,” Draper said of his withdrawal from the US Open during an interview with The Independent.
“Essentially, I think I got a scan that gave me false hope, that maybe was reported wrong. I don’t regret playing [the US Open] because I’m an athlete, I want to achieve great things. I was in such a good place leading up to Wimbledon, with my ranking, with my tennis, that I wanted to keep pushing on. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t something that I could push on with.”
On a more positive note, Draper sees a silver lining to his recent injury blow, which ended his chance of competing in the ATP Finals for the first time in his career. Only four British men have played in the singles draw at the year-ending event since it was founded in 1970 – Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Cameron Norrie.
“Maybe that’s part of the reason why I ended up getting a little bit of an injury because I was really pushing hard to improve fast.” He admits.
Draoer heads into 2026 with a new team following the appointment of Jamie Delgado, who worked with Murray when he became No.1 in the world. Shortly after this development, it was confirmed that his coach of four years, James Trotman, will be stepping down to focus on family commitments.
“There’s so many improvements I can make, physically, mentally, with my tennis,” Draper said of hs game.
“I can be more aggressive, I know that I’ve already got an amazing all-round game in terms of defending and my will to win, but now I think it’s about really utilising my weapons to be able to challenge, especially those two guys who are at the top of the game.”
Draper’s 2025 results
Australian Open – R4
Doha Open – Finalist
Indian Wells – champion
Miami Masters – R2
Monte Carlo Masters – R3
Madrid Masters – Finalist
Rome Masters – QF
French Open – R4
Queen’s – SF
Wimbledon – R2
US Open – R2 (withdrew after first round)
TOTAL WIN-LOSS = 30 – 9
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY (including doubles) = $8,443,805
source: ITF/ATP
