Injured Draper withdraws on eve of another tournament

Former British number one Jack Draper has withdrawn from the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, citing the long-term arm injury that has plagued him for over a year. The 24-year-old left-hander was set to play his first tournament since pulling out of Wimbledon last month.

Draper had said over the weekend that he felt "physically good" after training sessions under new coach Andy Murray, but on Monday he experienced increased soreness in the problematic arm and decided to withdraw from the ATP 500 event. This is a frustrating repeat of the Wimbledon scenario, where he spoke positively about his fitness before pulling out 24 hours before his first-round match.

He remains hopeful of competing in Montreal and Cincinnati before the US Open, which starts on August 30 and where he reached the semi-finals in 2024. However, the recurring injury – described by Draper as "complicated" – is a worrying pattern. It is bone bruising in his serving arm, and he has spent long periods resting to overcome it.

Draper has played only 15 matches in the past 12 months, primarily due to the bruised humerus. "It's hard to tell when you can push [and] when not to push," he said at Wimbledon. "I wouldn't be competing anywhere if there was a chance that I'm going to get a lot worse."

His comeback earlier this season was derailed by knee tendinitis, and he had not played for over two months before returning at Eastbourne in June. Reaching the semi-finals there came at a price, as the arm injury flared up again at Wimbledon, leaving him "devastated" to withdraw from his home Grand Slam.

Now ranked 147th in the world, Draper has not played a major since the 2024 US Open. If he is fit enough to play at Flushing Meadows this year, he will have to come through qualifying or receive a wildcard. In Washington, he will be replaced by lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald.