Jack Draper announces latest major setback as injury nightmare grounds 2026 campaign to a halt

Since reaching those glittering heights of World No.4 back in June 2025, Jack Draper's tennis career has fallen apart. An arm injury has hounded him for over a year now, resulting in a number of tournament withdrawals and early exits. He has since cancelled the remainder of his 2026 season as he looks to rest and recover, ready to go again in 2027.

Draper came into this campaign seemingly fit and replenished. A bruised humerous cost him the chance of continuing his brilliant form after withdrawing from the US Open, later going on to take the rest of the year off.

He was under pressure to defend some huge points hauls, specifically the Indian Wells title and Madrid Open final runs produced as he cemented his name among the elite. Flashes of brilliance have been showcased with a win over Novak Djokovic on the way to the quarter-finals of that title defence in California being his standout moment.

Nevertheless, the injury has taken too much out of him, and he is unable to find his best form or even string up a number of consecutive tournaments. He has not played in a single major tournament, while the help and guidance of Andy Murray seemed like a prosperous one, which never seemed to click when on court thanks to his injury issues.

He was handed wildcards to compete in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, losing in the first round of both. In Montreal, he was emotional on his bench at the changeover as the 24-year-old stared down the barrell of another defeat. His straight-set loss to Martin Landaluce in Cincinnati was the last time he has competed on the ATP Tour.

Draper announced the news on his Instagram page with a lengthy message. "Don’t usually love lots of words on here but I wanted to update you that I am aiming to return to the tour at the start of 2027," he wrote.

"Last summer all the dedication and work I had put into this sport was coming together. It was all going my way and the path seemed so clear. However a complicated injury made things incredibly challenging and since that moment I’ve been desperately trying to get back and feel as I once did on the court.

"Managing so much change, adversity and pain has helped me to grow massively in many areas of my life but has also made me feel a level of fatigue that made it difficult to keep going. I am taking this time to reset and heal so when I return I am 100% ready to go.

"Tennis is my purpose and passion and so when I step back on court I want to make sure that there’s nothing holding me back from where I want to go and achieve the things I know I’m capable of. I really appreciate all the continued support from my sponsors, team and people who enjoy following my tennis and I look forward to being back on court to give it my all next year!"

Currently ranked 155th in the world, Draper went from Britain's next big hope to their sixth-highest-ranked player. A disastrous turn of events has truly hampered the progress of Draper, but he will not give up without a fight, as he hopes to get back healthy in 2027.