Jack Draper issues candid 40-word message after ‘sad’ Barcelona Open injury retirement
Jack Draper vowed to “work my way out of this” in a candid social media message as he reacted to his mid-match retirement at the 2026 Barcelona Open.
The British star was playing his first event of the clay-court season at the ATP 500 in Barcelona after he missed the Monte Carlo Masters.
Draper took on world No 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round in Barcelona on Monday — and he made a positive start.
The former world No 4, who is currently ranked 28th, twice recovered from being a break down to win the opening set 6-3.
The 24-year-old swiftly found himself 0-3 down in the second set, though, and it was in the early stages of this set that he appeared to start struggling with a knee issue.
Etcheverry won the second set 6-3 in convincing fashion, and he broke a labouring Draper twice to establish a 4-1 lead in the third set.
During the changeover when trailing 1-4 in the decider, a downbeat Draper took the decision to retire and shook hands with Etcheverry.
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Draper was playing his first match since he suffered a straight-set loss to Reilly Opelka in his opening match at the Miami Open on 20 March.
In a post on Instagram after his retirement in Spain, Draper reflected on his latest setback with his body.
“Sad to retire in Barcelona. I’ve tried hard these last months to stay positive and give my all,” wrote the 2025 Indian Wells champion.
“It will take time but I will work my way out of this. Thank you for all the support throughout this process!”
Draper returned to competition in February after almost six months out of action due to a bone stress injury in his left arm.
The Brit made an impressive run to the quarter-finals in his Indian Wells title defence last month in just the second ATP Tour event of his comeback.
Former British player Barry Cowan reacted to Draper’s retirement while commentating for Tennis TV.
“You really feel for him, he just can’t catch a break at the moment,” said Cowan.
“We first noticed it at 2-0, 30-0 [in the second set]. I think it’s the right decision. Above all, you have to take care of your body. It just didn’t seem to make sense to carry on if it seemed to be getting worse.”
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