Tenth-ranked Draper not ready to return for Australian Open

By Canadian Press on December 26, 2025.

LONDON (AP) — Jack Draper, who has played just one tennis match since Wimbledon because of injury, will not be fit for next month’s Australian Open.

The 10th-ranked Draper’s 2025 season was prematurely curtailed by bone bruising in his left arm.

“Unfortunately, me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year,” the 24-year-old British player said in a video on X on Friday. “It’s a really, really tough decision. Obviously 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.”

Draper withdrew from his second-round match at the US Open in August before calling time on his season soon after. He was beaten by Marin Cilic in the second round of Wimbledon in July.

The Australian Open in Melbourne starts on January 18.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press