Jack Draper forced out of UTS London as injuries delay his long-awaited return

Jack Draper was preparing for his return to the courts in London this week in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS). The British No. 1 was announced in September of this year as one of the stars who would be present at the Finals, but he was forced to withdraw at the last minute as he continues to struggle with injuries.

The 2025 Indian Wells champion was hoping for his return to the courts after several physically complicated months. Since his early elimination at Wimbledon in July of this year, he only managed to play one tournament: the US Open, where he was not 100% fit and ended up withdrawing before playing the second round against Zizou Bergs due to an arm injury.

The last few months out of competition were costly for his ranking. After positioning himself in the Top 5 during the first part of the year, he seemed like one of the names that would have a place in the ATP Finals. However, the injury and his months of absence caused him to end his season prematurely.

Nevertheless, the former world No. 4 capitalized on the good advantage he had from previous months—thanks to a Masters 1000 title and finals at the Madrid Open and Doha Open, among others—and managed to finish the year as world No. 10.

There was high expectation surrounding Draper’s return this week, considering that the UTS Finals would this time be held in the English capital, London. The British No. 1 had the opportunity to return to his city—this time in an exhibition—and redeem himself in front of his home crowd after a surprising early exit at Wimbledon—a tournament where he arrived as one of the favorites but was eliminated in the second round by Marin Cilic.

"Hi guys, I’ve been working hard to be back for the UTS in London but frustratingly I’m just not quite ready,” Draper posted in a statement on social media. “It’s a tough call as at this point I want nothing more than to get out there and compete but i’ve been advised take more time. I’m sorry to let down fans and miss out on this event.”

The 2023 UTS champion Ugo Humbert was quickly announced as his replacement. The Frenchman—former world No. 13—returns to the UTS and will share a group with Casper Ruud, Francisco Cerúndolo, and David Goffin. Just like the ATP Finals, there are two groups of four players who will compete for two spots in the semi-finals.

On the other side, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, Adrian Mannarino, and Tomáš Macháč will compete for the other two spots in the tournament's semi-finals. The action will begin this Friday, December 5th, at 5 PM local time, with the first match between Humbert and David Goffin.

It is worth noting that the UTS has attracted attention for its innovative format since its creation in 2020—a partnership between businessman Alex Popyrin (father of Alexei Popyrin) and coach Patrick Mouratoglou—former coach of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Holger Rune, and Naomi Osaka, among others.