Everyone hoped to see Jack Draper in action again at the beginning of the new year, but it's not the right good news in the last few hours.
The young English ace who has not played an official match since the US Open due to an arm injury had to end his 2025 season early, not being able to compete at the level he wanted.
He was supposed to attend some performances to test his condition before the start of 2026, but his body did not send him the messages he hoped for and did not appear on the field, generating concern among fans.
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Shortly after promising that he would be present at the Australian Open next month, the former Top 5 had to rectify by announcing that he will not be present at the Happy Slam scheduled from January 18. This is really a blow for Jack, who was not at the top of his shape even during the 2025 edition of the AO (due to an injury suffered during the pre-season).
The Brit recently pulled out of the AO
The first part of this year had been excellent for the English player, who had finally managed to play consistently and had won his first Masters 1000 in Indian Wells dominating all his opponents. Draper had also reached the final at the Mutua Madrid Open and made his entry into the Top 5 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career, before injuries returned to affect his career.
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On the latest edition of his famous podcast, former world No.1 Andy Roddick expressed all his sadness about this situation: Its just health. When he is in full flight he looks the part of someone who is a top three or four player. How does that translate over time? Can he get his body healthy? We thought he was going to come back for the US Open, but his shoulder was not quite there.
I hope he stays healthy because what he showed for that pocket of late August through to May, 2024 going into 2025, was very exciting for the sport of tennis.
