Jack Draper withdraws from the Australian Open days after seemingly confirming his presence
Jack Draper has confirmed that he will not be participating in the 2026 Australian Open just days after confirming his presence.
The Brit last competed at the US Open in August, winning his first-round match over Federico Gomez 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 before withdrawing from his scheduled clash against Belgian Zizou Bergs, due to arm discomfort.
Most recently, Draper withdrew from the UTS London Grand Final and an exhibition match in Macau.
“Unfortunately, me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year,” he said during a video posted to social media.
“It’s a really, really tough decision, obviously (with) Australia being a grand slam, it’s one of the biggest tournaments in our sport.
“However, I’ve had this injury for a long time, I’m at the very, very end stages of the process and to step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn’t seem like a smart decision right now for me and my tennis.
“I’ve obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks so far, but by far and away this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging, the most complex one that 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 in 2026 and competing.”
The world No 10 was last absent at a Grand Slam at the 2023 edition of Wimbledon, where he was suffering from a shoulder injury.
2025 saw a significant step forward for Draper, best marked by a maiden Masters 1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters and a showpiece match appearance at the Madrid Masters (losing to Casper Ruud).
In previous years, it was often the Brit’s body that let him down via an array of injuries – including shoulder and abdominal problems in 2023 and 2024 – and frequent cramping.
However, the world No 10 has remained cautious with regard to his arm discomfort and erred on the side of caution.
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Despite the withdrawal, just days prior, the Indian Wells champion had confirmed that he would be playing in Australia during an event at Weybridge Tennis Center in Surrey.
“I’ll be playing [in] Australia, yeah,” Draper stated, during the event
“It’s not been the easiest time for me because I was coming up, I was feeling li.ke I was in a really good place right at the top, and then something like this happens and I guess you either stand still and let it get the best of you or you keep on going.
“And I think, yeah, that’s just a constant wheel, that’s just a constant wave. You know, you’re successful then you’re going to struggle and then you get successful again.
“But you have to keep at it mentally, so I feel like I’ve done that pretty well.”
Draper’s arm injury first became apparent during his 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 loss to Croat Marin Cilic in the second round of Wimbledon, although the Brit refused to elaborate on his physical issues.
The Brit was scheduled to return to the tour at the ATP 250 event in Adelaide, Jan 12 – 17, before playing the Australian Open the following week.
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