📂 Categoría: News Story | 📅 Fecha: 1777560395
🔍 En este artículo:
Out of the French Open and out of the top 100, Jack Draper has suffered with an arm and now a knee injury, leaving the wounded Brit in line to face the likes of world No1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old left-hander has managed just nine matches across five events since returning in February and retired during his first-round clash with Tomas Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open earlier this month. He was subsequently diagnosed with an aggravated knee tendon injury.
Draper had returned to action only in February after six months out with a niggling left arm injury, having also missed the Australian Open.
The British No 2 has now decided not to attempt to put his body through the rigours of best-of-five-set tennis at Roland-Garros and will instead focus on recovering for the grass-court season.
He is currently ranked world No 28 but was already confirmed to lose 850 ranking points after withdrawing from tournaments in both Madrid and Rome, and has now been impacted even more after pulling out of the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris, which will see him slide outside of the top 100 in the ATP rankings.
He will be able to enter Wimbledon directly as the cut-off will be before he falls outside the top 100 but he could still end up playing Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, a fit Carlos Alcaraz or dominant Italian Sinner in the first round. The Championships start on Monday, June 29.
However, the former US Open semi-finalist could be in danger of missing this year’s Grand Slam in New York, with some big tournaments in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati vital in his hopes of gaining enough ranking points.
Was best-of-five a factor in decision?
It’s an alarming demise for a player who climbed to a career-high No 4 in the rankings in June last year, capping a standout first half of the season that included his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells.
The Briton also reached finals in Doha and Madrid, with a quarter-final appearance at the Italian Open and the fourth round of the French Open during that stretch.
“We knew it would be a tough year to come back after injury, but it’s always disappointing to miss a Grand Slam and for him to make the call so early, it’s the same as Carlos Alcaraz – must be a really difficult injury to treat,” former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli told Sky Sports.
“We know he can’t get the volume of practice in and with Roland-Garros being one of the most demanding Grand Slams due to the surface and the lengths of the rallies and the length of the matches, you really want to get out there being 100 per cent.”
Former British doubles star Colin Fleming said: “I think the best-of-five is a factor. I think it was a factor in Australia where he pulled out. With the arm he was back on court, he was hitting, but he must have been thinking ‘am I really going to return at a Grand Slam in a best-of-five?’ It seems to be the same sort of decision ahead of Roland-Garros.
“He’s hitting again, which is positive, but am I really going to be ready to play best-of-five on clay, sliding, pushing myself. Because he doesn’t just want to turn up. If he’s going to play, he there to compete and he’s one guy who believes he can beat the top players so really sad news but let’s hope that he’s back for the grass and back for Wimbledon.”
When could Draper return?
Draper, who was plagued with an arm injury following last year’s Wimbledon, could potentially return at the grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, where he won his first title in 2024.
That begins on June 8, with the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club taking place the following week.
Rusedski: You don’t want to rush back
At Indian Wells, in just his second ATP Tour event since returning from a long-term injury, Draper battled through one of the matches of the season to defeat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and reach the quarter-finals.
“I honestly thought at that time he was getting himself back on track,” admitted Bartoli. “But then having that break is tricky physically and mentally.
“You can recover physically from injury, but mentally to be on the sidelines, you turn on your TV and see other players in action, it’s difficult for an athlete to be able to do what you love the most, which is play tennis.”
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has urged Draper to be cautious with his comeback plan.
“Jack Draper, the shoulder is good finally, and then all of a sudden the knee goes out,” he said on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.
“This is disconcerting because you have six to seven months off, and then all of a sudden you start to get a little bit of momentum, and it’s not the main injury you’ve been away for, but it’s the knee.
“We’re hoping that’s not too serious because Jack is too talented a player not to get back. At the end of the day, the very best players have that extra belief, and they don’t care about taking that extra time off.
“If you come back too soon, and you’re not fully healed up and ready to go, you get another injury, because the body is not used to it.
“So you have to play those practice sets. You don’t want to rush back.”
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
Out of the French Open and out of the top 100, Jack Draper has suffered with an arm and now a knee injury, leaving the wounded Brit in line to face the likes of world No1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old left-hander has managed just nine matches across five events since returning in February and retired during his first-round clash with Tomas Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open earlier this month. He was subsequently diagnosed with an aggravated knee tendon injury.
Draper had returned to action only in February after six months out with a niggling left arm injury, having also missed the Australian Open.
The British No 2 has now decided not to attempt to put his body through the rigours of best-of-five-set tennis at Roland-Garros and will instead focus on recovering for the grass-court season.
He is currently ranked world No 28 but was already confirmed to lose 850 ranking points after withdrawing from tournaments in both Madrid and Rome, and has now been impacted even more after pulling out of the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris, which will see him slide outside of the top 100 in the ATP rankings.
He will be able to enter Wimbledon directly as the cut-off will be before he falls outside the top 100 but he could still end up playing Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, a fit Carlos Alcaraz or dominant Italian Sinner in the first round. The Championships start on Monday, June 29.
However, the former US Open semi-finalist could be in danger of missing this year’s Grand Slam in New York, with some big tournaments in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati vital in his hopes of gaining enough ranking points.
Was best-of-five a factor in decision?
It’s an alarming demise for a player who climbed to a career-high No 4 in the rankings in June last year, capping a standout first half of the season that included his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells.
The Briton also reached finals in Doha and Madrid, with a quarter-final appearance at the Italian Open and the fourth round of the French Open during that stretch.
“We knew it would be a tough year to come back after injury, but it’s always disappointing to miss a Grand Slam and for him to make the call so early, it’s the same as Carlos Alcaraz – must be a really difficult injury to treat,” former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli told Sky Sports.
“We know he can’t get the volume of practice in and with Roland-Garros being one of the most demanding Grand Slams due to the surface and the lengths of the rallies and the length of the matches, you really want to get out there being 100 per cent.”
Former British doubles star Colin Fleming said: “I think the best-of-five is a factor. I think it was a factor in Australia where he pulled out. With the arm he was back on court, he was hitting, but he must have been thinking ‘am I really going to return at a Grand Slam in a best-of-five?’ It seems to be the same sort of decision ahead of Roland-Garros.
“He’s hitting again, which is positive, but am I really going to be ready to play best-of-five on clay, sliding, pushing myself. Because he doesn’t just want to turn up. If he’s going to play, he there to compete and he’s one guy who believes he can beat the top players so really sad news but let’s hope that he’s back for the grass and back for Wimbledon.”
When could Draper return?
Draper, who was plagued with an arm injury following last year’s Wimbledon, could potentially return at the grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, where he won his first title in 2024.
That begins on June 8, with the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club taking place the following week.
Rusedski: You don’t want to rush back
At Indian Wells, in just his second ATP Tour event since returning from a long-term injury, Draper battled through one of the matches of the season to defeat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and reach the quarter-finals.
“I honestly thought at that time he was getting himself back on track,” admitted Bartoli. “But then having that break is tricky physically and mentally.
“You can recover physically from injury, but mentally to be on the sidelines, you turn on your TV and see other players in action, it’s difficult for an athlete to be able to do what you love the most, which is play tennis.”
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has urged Draper to be cautious with his comeback plan.
“Jack Draper, the shoulder is good finally, and then all of a sudden the knee goes out,” he said on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.
“This is disconcerting because you have six to seven months off, and then all of a sudden you start to get a little bit of momentum, and it’s not the main injury you’ve been away for, but it’s the knee.
“We’re hoping that’s not too serious because Jack is too talented a player not to get back. At the end of the day, the very best players have that extra belief, and they don’t care about taking that extra time off.
“If you come back too soon, and you’re not fully healed up and ready to go, you get another injury, because the body is not used to it.
“So you have to play those practice sets. You don’t want to rush back.”
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
💡 Puntos Clave
- Este artículo cubre aspectos importantes sobre News Story
- Información verificada y traducida de fuente confiable
- Contenido actualizado y relevante para nuestra audiencia
📚 Información de la Fuente
| 📰 Publicación: | www.skysports.com |
| ✍️ Autor: | |
| 📅 Fecha Original: | 2026-04-30 12:27:00 |
| 🔗 Enlace: | Ver artículo original |
Nota de transparencia: Este artículo ha sido traducido y adaptado del inglés al español para facilitar su comprensión. El contenido se mantiene fiel a la fuente original, disponible en el enlace proporcionado arriba.
📬 ¿Te gustó este artículo?
Tu opinión es importante para nosotros. Comparte tus comentarios o suscríbete para recibir más contenido histórico de calidad.
