Jack Draper & Taylor Fritz warn tennis chiefs and call for change after Holger Rune horror injury
Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz have both spoken out and expressed their concerns about the host of injuries suffered by players on the men’s tour in recent weeks.
Holger Rune has confirmed his Achilles is “fully broken” after being brought to tears having been forced to retire in his Stockholm Open semi-final against Ugo Humbert on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic retired due to injury after losing a marathon opening set in his third place playoff match with Fritz at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh later that day.
Injuries and players struggling physically have been major themes on the ATP Tour since the Asian swing. Seven players were forced to retire mid-match at the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, while world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz was one 13 players to pull out before the event.
Draper, the current world No 9, cut his 2025 season short due to a bruised humerus injury that forced him to pull out of the US Open in late August.
In a post on X after Rune and Djokovic’s retirements, Draper called for changes to be made to the tour as he warned that young players will struggle to have long careers with the current calendar.
Injuries are going to happen… we are pushing our bodies to do things they aren’t supposed to in elite sport. We have so many incredible younger guys on the tour right now and I’m proud to be apart of that, however, the tour and the calendar have to adapt if any of us are gonna…
— jack draper (@jackdraper0) October 18, 2025
“Injuries are going to happen… we are pushing our bodies to do things they aren’t supposed to in elite sport,” said the 23-year-old Brit.
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“We have so many incredible younger guys on the tour right now and I’m proud to be a part of that, however, the tour and the calendar have to adapt if any of us are gonna achieve some sort of longevity.”
Fritz, the world No 4, agreed with Draper and went on to argue that conditions are contributing to the increase in injuries.
“Facts, also seeing more injuries and burnout now than ever before because balls, courts, conditions have slowed down a lot making the weekly grind even more physically demanding and tough on the body,” the 27-year-old American said in reply to Draper.
Alcaraz is one of many players who has criticised the tennis schedule in recent months.
“I think that the schedule is really tight,” said the six-time Grand Slam champion during the Japan Open last month.
“They have to do something with the schedule. I think there are too many mandatory tournaments, too many in a row.”
