Jack Draper has announced he will miss the Australian Open next month after admitting he is not quite ready for a return to top competition. The British No. 1 has played just one match since Wimbledon, with bruises to his left arm curtailing his 2025 season, and he will be on the sidelines for some time to come.
Draper, ranked 10th in the world, said in a video on X on Boxing Day: “Unfortunately myself and my team have decided not to go to Australia this year. It’s obviously a very, very difficult decision. [with] Because Australia is a Grand Slam, it is one of the biggest tournaments in our sport.
“However, I have had this injury for a long time, I am in the very last stages of the process and to return to the court so quickly in best-of-five sets tennis does not seem like a smart decision for me and my tennis at the moment.”
Draper’s arm injury plagued him for much of his campaign and came to a head at the US Open in August, when he withdrew from his second-round match before calling time on his season shortly afterwards. The 24-year-old was scheduled to return to the grand final of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London earlier in December, but he followed advice to allow more time for his recovery.
By skipping the first grand slam of the season, which starts in Melbourne on January 18, Draper is now likely to be targeting a comeback in February before defending his title in Indian Wells in early March.
He added: “I’ve obviously had my fair share of setbacks so far, but this one is by far the hardest, the most challenging and the most complex I’ve had. It’s weird, it always seems to manage to make me more resilient, to make me hungrier, to make me want to become the player I want to become even more. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and competing in 2026.”
#Jack #Draper #Australian #Open #failing #recover #injury #time