‘Devastated’ Jack Draper pulls out of Wimbledon due to injury

Jack Draper has pulled out of Wimbledon in a devastating blow for the Briton after a year of injury struggles.

Draper, ranked fourth in the world 12 months ago, was due to play sixth seed Taylor Fritz on Tuesday but has withdrawn from the tournament.

The 24-year-old had Andy Murray as his coach for Wimbledon, but follows Emma Raducanu in withdrawing from his home grand slam.

Draper has suffered a relapse of the arm injury that forced him to miss seven months of the tour between August and February.

“Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury,” Draper said.

“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon.

“I will continue to persevere through this. Thank you for the support!”

Draper was scheduled to play Fritz, the sixth seed, in a first-round blockbuster on Centre Court on Tuesday, in what was a nightmare draw for the Briton.

After suffering a knee injury at the Barcelona Open in April, Draper made his comeback at Eastbourne last week and won three matches before defeat to Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals on Friday.

He gave no indication that he was injured when he trained and spoke to journalists at Wimbledon on Sunday.

He said: “I would say that my power is in a really good place. I’m moving great. I still say I’m far from perfect. I’m getting there.

“It’s been an incredibly long process. It’s taken a lot out of me mentally coming back and coming back and coming back.

“At the same time I feel like I’m in a position now where I can compete at a really high level and really compete with the best players.”

Ironically, Draper also spoke at length about the trend of injuries in the men’s game. Carlos Alcaraz is currently sidelined due to a wrist injury, while Lorenzo Musetti, Arthur Fils and Holger Rune are among the other top players to have endured long lay-offs in the past year.

“I think it’s pretty worrying the state of men’s tennis, especially right now,” Draper said.

“When I look at the draws for the weeks when I was out, everything is shoulder, arm, wrist. Whether that’s the quality of the balls… I don’t think there’s more matches nowadays and stuff.

“I think definitely the way athletes are getting better and hitting the ball harder and moving better, I think it’s my opinion they need to really take a close look at what we’re doing on tour. Definitely the state of the Masters 1000s, the 12-day events.”

Draper also summed up how “difficult” the past 12 months have been. A year ago, he entered Wimbledon as the fourth seed after winning the biggest title of his career at Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid Open final, but he is now set to drop lower than 140 in the world.

“Looking back coming here last year as No 4 in the world, I was feeling incredible and looking forward to everything that was to come,” Draper said on Sunday. “I felt like I was gradually building up and up and up, confidence in my tennis, in my body, in my mind.

“Then you have something that stops you in your tracks when you’re not expecting it. I think it’s really difficult to accept that, especially after coming through what you’ve come through in the past.

“I didn’t know I was going to have the year I’ve had with the injuries, not being able to play too much, watching your sort of ranking drop all the way down again to the start.

“I suppose you’ve got to see that as where you’re at. You always have to look at the positive side of things. I have to rebuild myself and I have to start again almost.”