Insufficiently recovered from an injury to his left arm which has handicapped him for many months, Jack Draper confirmed that he would not travel to Australia for the start of the 2026 season, withdrawing from the United Cup and especially from the Australian Open.
The crossing of the desert continues for Jack Draper. Since his withdrawal prior to the second round of the US Open at the end of last August, the Briton has no longer appeared on the courts. Injured in the left arm, the current tenth in the ATP ranking hoped to return to competition to launch the 2026 season and was thus selected to compete in the United Cup with Great Britain from January 2. However, the Sutton native dampened the hopes of his supporters earlier this week. Through a video message posted on social media this Friday, Jack Draper announced that he will not travel to Australia for the first chapter of the 2026 season.
“ Unfortunately, my team and I have decided not to travel to the Australian Open this yearhe first declared. It’s a very difficult decision. » Confident of having “this injury for a very long time”, the Briton assures that he is “at the end of the process” which should lead him to a return to competition. However, the format of matches inherent to Grand Slam tournaments is an obstacle to the desire to return to the courts of Jack Draper. “ Returning to the court for five-set matches so soon did not seem like a good decision for me and for my tennis “, he added.
Draper positive despite everything
“I’ve obviously suffered a lot of setbacks so far, but
this was by far the most difficult, the most trying and the most complex that I have known », assured Jack Draper. Making a brave face against bad luck, the semi-finalist of the US Open in 2024 sees the positive in this misadventure. “It’s strange, but it always seems to make me more resilient, hungrier, and make me even more eager to become the player I want to becomehe assures. I look forward to returning to the field in 2026 and competing at a high level. » While Billy Harris will replace him alongside Emma Raducanu within the British team lined up in the United Cup, Vit Kopriva takes advantage of his withdrawal from the Australian Open and obtains a ticket to the main draw of the first round of the 2026 Grand Slam.
