Jack Draper latest tennis player to withdraw from US Open as dreadful 2026 campaign takes another nasty turn

Jack Draper continues to struggle with his arm injury picked up over a year ago. The latest blow comes after a brace of early Masters 1000 exits as he withdraws from the US Open, needing more time to rest and recover.

The former World No.4 has not reached those glorious heights from last year where he started to challenge the best players in the world. Many touted him to challenge the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and this year he has still proven his worth at times. Defeating Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells along with a semi-final run at the Eastbourne Open are all positives surrounding a whole heap of lows.

The most recent one has come in the form of him skipping making the return to Flushing Meadows. The 2024 semi-finalist broke onto the scene in New York, debuting in the top 20 in his best major performance to date.

Last year, he made it to the second round before withdrawing after a persistent arm injury first picked up at Wimbledon gave him too much pain. He would sit out the rest of the year, and the first bit of 2026.

Eventually he made a comeback, but it has been constant setbacks since that has constantly left him at square one. Even getting Andy Murray by his side has not helped him rekindle his old self with this arm problem starting to derail his career.

That is now all four Grand Slam tournaments that Draper will miss this season. He competed in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open after earning wildcards, but he could not produce the winning combination. His contest in Montreal saw him get emotional just before losing as the toll on the situation got to him.

Noting it as hitting 'rock bottom,' Draper continues to strive for a healthy body once more. It is unclear when he will return to tennis.

Now currently ranked 143rd in the world, this low ranking means that he will need to rely on wildcards to get in some of the big ATP tournaments as he works his way back up the pecking order. He was not given a wildcard for the US Open, thus meaning he would have needed to go through qualifying to get into the main draw.

Draper may target a return to tennis in the Asian swing, but it all depends on how his arm injury holds up. The signs still remain negative as the Brit continues to tackle this problem.