Jack Draper: British star ruled out of the US Open due to ongoing injury woes
Jack Draper follows Jannik Sinner out of the US Open in the latest blow to the former world No 4; watch the US Open from August 30 live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app
Friday 21 August 2026 18:39, UK
British star Jack Draper has been ruled out of the US Open as he continues to battle a bone bruise in his dominant left arm.
After two dispiriting matches in the United States, Draper has concluded he needs more time to recover, according to sources close to the player.
The news, which came only a couple of hours after world No 1 Jannik Sinner announced he would miss the tournament with a knee injury, while Carlos Alcaraz is set to make his return after a four-month spell on the sidelines with a wrist injury.
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The former world No 4, who has not played at a single Grand Slam this year, said he was in a "difficult place" after his first-round defeat by Martin Landaluce in the Cincinnati Open last week, admitting he was struggling to escape the mental fatigue that had built up during 15 months of battling serious injury.
Draper told the Guardian: "It's the same as last week, the way I'm usually able to fight for every ball and conduct myself, it's just missing.
"Obviously, the conditions and all the things that I'm changing is very hard to manage, but I think from just an internal point of view, it's a difficult place to be right now."
Draper has made a series of changes to reduce the strain on his left arm. Since Wimbledon, the 24-year-old has altered his strings and racket, while continuing to tweak his service motion.
He admitted managing it is a constant challenge, saying: "It's got to a point with me where it's taken probably one of my biggest qualities, my fighting spirit.
"There's a level of chronic pain that's always with you. When you've got that on your playing arm - this is my life, this is my career, you know?
"When you've got an injury that is tough to come past and tough to understand, there's many challenges, there's many obstacles."
Croft: Draper needs to try and fix his body!
Speaking to Gigi Salmon on Sky Sports Tennis, Annabel Croft said it was a bit of "doom and gloom" around tennis at the moment.
"Maybe we weren't so surprised," said the former British No 1. "We knew something was up when we saw that eruption of emotion just a couple of events ago. I got the impression this horrible long-term injury - the bone bruising in his arm just wasn't going away - it was rearing its ugly head again and he spoke quite openly about it.
"He's tried everything and it just keeps coming back, so maybe this is a good decision because to go into a Grand Slam, it's best of five sets and it's absolutely brutal.
"It's seven matches back-to-back and they've looked at that and decided he's not ready for that.
"He needs to go away and try - I don't know how - to fix his body. It's been so emotional for him because he wants to go out there and compete.
"The US Open is a Grand Slam where he has reached the semi-finals. He has challenged all of the very best in the world, so I feel very sad for him."
Draper's injury timeline after Wimbledon 2025...
- July-Aug 2025: Break until the US Open
- Aug 2025: US Open mixed doubles, then one singles match before withdrawing with a left-arm injury
- Sep 2025-Jan 2026: Out injured
- Feb 2026: Returned to competition
- Apr 2026: Retired in Barcelona with a knee injury and was out for more than two months.
- June 2026: Returned at Eastbourne; then withdrew from Wimbledon
- Aug 2026: Returned at Montreal and Cincinnati
- Aug 21, 2026: Withdrew from the US Open with his left-arm injury
What's happening to tennis? Has it become too long and relentless?
Former player turned coach, Ryan Harrison said: "It's 11 months and it's non-stop. The year-end championship comes along in November, which is such a big event with the prestige to try and finish world No 1. We saw a world No 1 race right to the very end last year between Sinner and Alcaraz. There's a lot of incentive there to try and get to that top spot but for me it's the way the courts are playing and the way the balls are playing now.
"It's not as friendly to big serving and it's not as friendly to points being quick anymore because the courts have slowed down, while the conditions have slowed down so we're seeing a lot more longer, physical rallies, and that's more physically demanding on the body.
"I think it's even more difficult to stay healthy now than it was say 20 or 30 years ago when the courts were more friendly to service winners and aces.
"Nowadays, the 11 months, the physicality, the demands of the tour. We love seeing these epic matches and epic rallies, but the body pays for that price."
Does change need to happen?
Croft said: "It's very difficult to change the calendar because so many of the tournaments are individually owned and you have all the sponsorship around that. It's difficult to take it away!
"It does feel the surfaces have all been coming together a lot more and there wasn't so much definition. I think a lot of the players would like to see a lot of the courts quickened up."
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports. The US Open is also live on Sky Sports from August 30. Stream tennis with NOW and the Sky Sports App.
