Britain's Jack Draper has announced he will miss the entire grass-court season, including Wimbledon, because of a shoulder injury. The 21-year-old, ranked 55th in the world, made the decision after retiring from his French Open debut against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
In a statement on Instagram, Draper said: 'It's clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be. My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass-court season this year.' He added: 'I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take.'
Draper was trailing 6-4 1-0 to Etcheverry when he withdrew, having been forced to serve underarm at times during the opening set. He described the experience as 'extremely tough, tougher than playing and losing,' and said he felt 'a bit mentally destroyed'.
This is the latest in a series of physical setbacks for the British men's number four. He retired from his US Open third-round match against Karen Khachanov last September with a hamstring problem, was compromised by cramping in his Australian Open defeat by Rafael Nadal in January, and also retired from his match against Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells in March.
Despite these challenges, Draper has shown promise, reaching the second round of Wimbledon in 2022 and the third round of the US Open later that year, where he beat sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. He remains determined to overcome his injury issues, stating: 'The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering.'
