Jack Draper has given a positive update after being left in tears during his recent comeback match in Montreal. The Brit has spent the better part of a year sidelined by bone bruising in his left arm, and the injury recently forced him to miss Wimbledon and the DC Open in Washington.
Emotional return in Montreal
The former world No. 4, who now sits at No. 143 after lengthy spells of absence from the tour, made his return at the Canadian Open last week but started decelerating on serve in the final set of his first-round match against Terence Atmane, and then began sobbing during a changeover. Draper played on but suffered a 6-4 2-6 6-2 defeat.
The Sutton-born star has yet to speak about that difficult moment, but he returned to the practice court in Montreal just one day after that tearful exit, a sign that he was simply feeling frustrated by his horrible luck with injuries and had not reaggravated the arm issue enough to stop training.
Cincinnati Open plans
And the British No. 6 now looks set to compete at this week's Cincinnati Open, where he has received a main-draw wildcard, after sharing a photo of himself practising with Matteo Berrettini on-site. Former world No. 6 Berrettini's career has also been derailed by injuries. Since the beginning of 2022, the Italian has missed eight of the 19 Grand Slam tournaments played, and he was also forced to retire in the French Open semi-finals this year.
The pair have been able to relate to one another's physical struggles, and Berrettini showed his support for Draper in the comments, writing a quote that read: "'So we can learn how to pick ourselves up'."
In a separate video shared by the Cincinnati Open on social media, Draper and Berrettini took Polaroid photos of one another after their practice session. "Don't do that," Draper joked as he took the Italian's picture. "Nice picture you took, Jack. Thank you very much, I'm going to keep it," Berrettini said after seeing the snap. "I got that [sign] in the background. You look like you're on holiday somewhere," the Brit replied.
Tournament withdrawals
While Draper is preparing to compete in Cincinnati, the tournament has already suffered two major blows, with recent champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner pulling out. Alcaraz has been sidelined by a wrist injury since April but had hoped to make his long-awaited comeback in this week's Masters 1000 event. However, the 2025 champ announced his withdrawal last week.
World No. 1 Sinner, who finished runner-up last year and lifted the trophy in 2024, announced his withdrawal on Sunday after feeling discomfort in his knee, which prompted some worrying medical checks in Italy. "After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati," the five-time Major winner said. "My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I'm not ready to compete yet."
