Jack Draper at risk of huge ranking drop after suffering knee injury in Barcelona

Jack Draper’s ranking points could halve depending on how long he is out with a suspected knee injury he picked up in Barcelona.

The current British No 2 was forced to retire in the first round of the Barcelona Open due to a knee injury he suffered whilst facing Reilly Opelka.

It comes off the back of a lengthy time spent out due to an arm injury which saw him miss the Australian Open, but he had been committed to a slow return to tennis, opting to miss the Rotterdam Open in order to not risk injury.

Recently, he pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters in order to recover from a bruised bone in his left arm but now he looks set for a more lengthy period on the sidelines with his latest injury.

Any absence could have a significant impact on his ATP ranking with the 24-year-old currently at 27th in the world on 1,610.

Most immediately on the horizon is the Madrid Open which is due to begin on April 22.

Draper reached the final of that tournament last year meaning he has 650 points to defend.

Following that, it is the Italian Open which is due to begin on May 6. Missing that would cost Draper the 200 points he earned there last year.

If he were to miss both ATP 1000 events, that would cost Draper 850 which would more than halve his current tally of 1,610.

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That kind of point loss would also see him fall dramatically down the rankings and a tally of 760 is only good enough for 73rd in the world currently.

Watching on, Tennis TV’s commentator Naomi Cavaday said Draper was “getting worse and worse” as his injury persisted.

“Jack taking some time to think about it during the changeover and deciding that he couldn’t play anymore. I think it’s the right call.

“The knee just went very early in the second set, and he’s been pulling up, it’s just been getting worse and worse.”

Barry Cowan added: “You really feel for him, he just can’t catch a break at the moment. 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 if it seemed to be getting worse.”