Jack Draper has postponed his comeback from an arm injury as he withdrew from this weekend’s grand final of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in London.
The British number one has played just one singles match since Wimbledon and was hoping to continue his preparations for a return to the tour in January.
However, the 23-year-old said in a social media post that he was advised to take more time instead of playing in the event, which takes place from December 5 to 7 at the Copper Box Arena.
“I’ve been working hard to prepare for UTS, but frustratingly I’m not quite ready yet,” Draper said.
“It’s a difficult task as I want nothing more than to participate, but I have been advised to take more time. Sorry to let the fans down and miss the event.”
Draper first felt discomfort in his upper left serving arm during the spring clay-court season, and after a post-Wimbledon scan he didn’t hit serve for a month.
He attempted to return at the US Open in late August, but after partnering Jessica Pegula in mixed doubles and winning his first-round singles match, he withdrew due to the discomfort.
This week’s three-day event in London would have offered Draper at least three short matches, spread over four eight-minute quarters, and competition from fellow top-20 players Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
Draper was offered a wildcard for the UTS event by founder Patrick Mouratoglou.
Although he was confident Draper would be ready to play, the Frenchman highlighted the danger of returning from this type of injury too quickly when speaking to BBC Sport in October.
“You can’t play with a bone bruise because the next stage is a stress fracture and you can’t take the risk of getting a stress fracture,” Mouratoglou said.
“If you have a broken bone in your arm, you can do a lot of fitness so that you stay in shape. Annoying because you then have to stop completely and wait until the arm is completely clean again.”
Draper posted a video of himself hitting forehands at the National Tennis Center in London in early November, wearing a compression sleeve on his left arm.
His next scheduled appearance is for Great Britain in the United Cup team competition in Perth in the first week of January.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the new season, starts on January 18 in Melbourne.
Draper reached a career-high world ranking of four in June and remains 10th after an excellent first half of the year, which included a maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.
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