Jack Draper, a former world No. 4, has withdrawn from his opening round match at Wimbledon due to a flare-up of a bone bruising injury in his left arm. The withdrawal came on Monday afternoon, hours after fellow British player Emma Raducanu also announced her departure from the tournament.
Draper was scheduled to face Taylor Fritz in a highly anticipated first-round match on Tuesday, with his supercoach Andy Murray in his corner. "Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury," Draper stated. "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!!"
This latest setback marks a difficult year for Draper, who entered Wimbledon the previous year as the No. 4 seed but has played sparingly since then due to the ongoing arm injury and tendinitis in his knee.
He had recently returned to competitive play at the Eastbourne Open, his first matches since April, and reached the semi-finals. Prior to that event, Draper had expressed his commitment to staying on court, stating, "I'm coming back at the point where I'm going to stay on court from now on.” However, he also acknowledged the complex nature of his injuries, adding, "These injuries are just so complicated. Who knows, it might never go away.”
The recurrence of the arm issue means Draper faces another period of rehabilitation.