Jack Draper suspected he received "a false report" on his arm injury and that's why he abruptly pulled out of the US Open after realizing that he physically wasn't where he needed to be to compete at the highest level.
At Wimbledon, home favorite Draper - who was considered among the favorites for the title after winning the Indian Wells Masters earlier this year - suffered a shock second-round loss to Marin Cilic. Later, it was revealed that the 23-year-old British tennis star's bone in the left arm was bruised.
While Draper didn't play any tournaments leading up to the US Open, he came to New York for the last Grand Slam of the season. The Briton made his comeback by taking part in the revamped US Open mixed doubles event with Jessica Pegula, where they reached the semifinal. Note - the mixed doubles event was held during the qualifying event.
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A couple of days later, Draper kicked off his singles campaign by needing four sets to beat 270th-ranked qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez. The following day, the Briton announced he was withdrawing from his second-round match against Zizou Bergs.
Bergs: I got a scan that was maybe reported wrong
I had to come back and find out what was going on. Essentially, I think I got a scan that gave me false hope, that maybe was reported wrong. I dont regret playing [the US Open] because Im 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 wasnt something that I could push on with," Draper told The Independent.
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The current world No. 11 hasn't played since but confirmed that he is doing well and that he should be fully ready for the start of the 2026 season.
The second part of 2025 may not have been the best for Draper, but it was still a breakout season for him, where he won his maiden Masters title and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world.
