Jack Draper issues ‘pretty worrying’ warning to tennis chiefs as 18 players withdraw from Wimbledon
Jack Draper has described the amount of injuries in men’s tennis as “pretty worrying” and urged the sport’s governing bodies to “take a close look at what we’re doing on tour.”
There are 18 players — 10 men and eight women — who have withdrawn from the 2026 Wimbledon Championships across both main draw singles events.
Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, Victoria Mboko and Emma Raducanu are among the big name absentees at the grass-court Grand Slam.
High numbers of players pulling out of tournaments due to injuries has been a recurring theme during the 2026 campaign.
Draper has suffered with a host of physical issues in his short career to dater, with the 24-year-old having played only 15 matches since last year’s Wimbledon.
The Brit was forced to end his 2025 season after the US Open due to a bone stress injury in his left arm, and he did not make his comeback until February.
The former world No 4 then returned from a further two months on the sidelines at the Eastbourne Open last week, and he won three matches before falling in the semi-finals.
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Speaking in his pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon, Draper highlighted the wider injury issues in the men’s game when asked about his own struggles.
“I think my arm injury, for instance, is something that I couldn’t foresee. It was bad luck,” said Draper.
“With muscles, it’s more of like a load thing, and bones are a load thing as well, but I think when we’re in a sport where we’re competing all the time, practising all the time, trying to progress my game.
“Like last year, I would say that I did well in the Masters 1000s, and I was really trying to develop my game and push my game more and more every week to reach those guys like Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner, who obviously play at an incredibly high level. And I just broke down.
“I think it’s pretty worrying, the state of men’s tennis, especially right now. The amount of injuries, especially to the young players. Musetti, I know [Arthur] Fils has had a lot of trouble, Alcaraz’s wrist.
“When I look at the draws for the weeks when I was out, everything is shoulder, arm, wrist. Whether that’s the quality of the balls or the nature of… I don’t think there’s more matches nowadays, but I think definitely the way athletes are getting better and hitting the ball harder and moving better, I think it’s my opinion that we need to really take a close look at what we’re doing on tour.
“And definitely the state of the Masters 1000s, the 12-day events. I was privy to those conversations when I was a top 10 player.
“Now I’m not, so I don’t care as much about what I say. But I think the tournaments are going to suffer a lot if not much changes. And I think it’s a really important topic, and I hope that as time goes on, things do change.”
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