BREAKING: Jack Draper withdraws from Wimbledon with recurrence of arm injury
Jack Draper has withdrawn from Wimbledon before his first-round match against Taylor Fritz, citing a recurrence of the arm injury that has plagued his season, ending his home Grand Slam before it began.
Jack Draper, 2026 | © Action Plus / PsNewz
Jack Draper’s injury-wrecked season has claimed his home Grand Slam, the British No. 2 withdrawing from Wimbledon before his first-round match after the arm problem that has dogged him for the past year flared again.
“Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury,” Draper said in a statement.
“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon. I will continue to persevere through this. Thank you for the support.”
The withdrawal denies the All England Club one of its most anticipated opening matches, a blockbuster against sixth seed Taylor Fritz that had been scheduled for Tuesday. It also cuts short a comeback that had only just begun: Draper returned to competition at Eastbourne last week, reaching the semi-finals, his first matches since retiring from the Barcelona Open in April.
That the recurrence is in his arm, rather than the knee tendon injury that ended his clay-court season, is the more troubling outcome. The bone bruising to his left, serving arm is the older and more debilitating of his problems, having restricted him to a handful of matches between last year’s Wimbledon and February.
He had not been serving in practice during the grass build-up, a sign that gave rise to concern even as he forced his way back at Eastbourne, reaching the semifinals.
Fritz vs. a lucky loser
The toll on his ranking has been stark. A year ago Draper sat at world No. 4, having won Indian Wells and reached the Madrid final; he arrived at Wimbledon this week unseeded and ranked around No. 160, having played barely a dozen matches in twelve months.
The withdrawal also stalls, before it could properly begin, his new coaching partnership with Andy Murray, who had joined Draper’s team for the grass-court season but is yet to sit in his box for a completed Grand Slam match. Fritz, denied his opponent, will instead face a lucky loser in the first round.
