Jack Draper Withdraws from French Open Due to Injury

Jack Draper, the 24-year-old British tennis player, has officially announced that he will miss the French Open and the remainder of the clay court season due to a persistent knee injury. The injury comes as a setback for Draper, who recently showed promise in the ATP tour, particularly after his impressive performances at Indian Wells earlier this year, where he reached the quarter-finals and defeated Novak Djokovic along the way.

Draper had high hopes of participating in the French Open, expressing optimism about his recovery. He posted on Instagram, "My knee is on the mend and I’ve started back hitting balls, but unfortunately I have been advised not to play Roland Garros. As gutting as it is to miss another Slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five set tennis on clay."

The knee injury, specifically a tendon issue on his right knee, forced Draper to retire from his only clay match of the season in Barcelona earlier this month. He also withdrew from subsequent ATP 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome. Being ranked 28th in the world, Draper is expected to drop out of the top 100 by the time he returns, as he will lose valuable ranking points from last year’s performances at Madrid and the Italian Open.

His clay court season was a challenging follow-up to an injury-plagued comeback that began after recovering from bone bruising in his serving arm. Following an earlier injury layoff since Wimbledon last year, Draper had aimed to regain form and assess his potential on the court. He mentioned the need to focus on healing and building up his fitness to return as a strong competitor.

Should he recover in time, Draper plans to start his grass court season in Stuttgart on June 8, a tournament where he previously won the title two years ago. This late comeback could impact his chances for seeding at Wimbledon, where he might face a seeded player in the early rounds.

In addition to Draper, fellow British players Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are also facing health issues. Raducanu is attempting to recover from a viral illness and has not yet decided on her participation in Rome, while Kartal will miss the entire clay season due to a back injury. The French Open is scheduled to start on May 24.