Jack Draper has been forced to withdraw before his second‑round match at the US Open because of issues with the arm injury that has disrupted his progress this summer.
Draper, the fifth seed, had already missed seven weeks of competition because of bone stress and bone bruising on his left arm, and he had not competed since his second‑round defeat at Wimbledon last month.
In a statement on social media, Draper wrote: “Hi guys, I’m sorry to say I’ll be withdrawing from the US Open. I tried my very best to be here and give myself every chance to play but the discomfort in my arm has become too much and I have to do what is right and look after myself. Thank you for all the support it means so much to me. Until next year NYC.”
After withdrawing from the pre‑US Open tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati, Draper did not return to competition in any form until the US Open mixed doubles last week, reaching the semi-finals alongside Jessica Pegula. Draper then returned to singles competition on Monday with a difficult four-set win against Federico Agustín Gómez and he had been due to face Zizou Bergs on Thursday.
The past few weeks have marked a significant moment in Draper’s career for other reasons as he launched a lucrative partnership with Vuori in New York, becoming the new face of the American clothing brand after wearing Nike for more than a decade.
In the second half of his first-round singles match, Draper’s serve speeds fell significantly and he was clearly not comfortable fully attacking his forehand, which raised concerns about the condition of his arm. Draper also vomited multiple times during the match.
During his post-match press conference, however, Draper responded to questions about his arm by asserting repeatedly that he felt positive about its progress and he believed it would continue to improve throughout the tournament.
Despite feeling some residual pain, Draper said recent scans had made it clear that he was not compromised. “I think I have two days now again till Thursday,” Draper said.
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“It’s getting better each time, each day, more recovery process. I think also competing, there’s more adrenaline that’s going to help me to – I don’t know, it’s about the load of what I’m doing. At the start, you’re kind of building up your load. The more times I’m playing two-and-a-half hours, three hours, that’s going to help my arm adapt to that new feeling. Today it responded amazing.”
After his first-round match, Draper trained on-site at Flushing Meadows on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning before deciding to withdraw from the tournament.
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