Jack Draper’s Australian Open withdrawal has heightened concerns regarding the status of his left arm injury.
The British number one has played only one match on the ATP Tour since losing in the Wimbledon second round last year, and his period on the sidelines is set to continue.
Tennis fans had been expecting Draper to make a return in Australia. However, the 23-year-old has been forced to skip the early-year swing due to the same left arm injury that plagued his progress throughout 2025.
Who is to blame for Jack Draper’s injury issues?
Draper’s return date was confirmed on Monday. However, Draper’s injury crisis has continued far longer than many tennis fans would have expected – a concerning development.
Andy Roddick is one individual who has expressed his disappointment regarding Draper’s situation.
Andy Roddick has been left concerned after Jack Draper’s Australian Open withdrawal
“I got to tell you one of the things that I was disappointed to see, and it seems like it’s becoming pretty concerning, was the [Jack] Draper withdrawal from Australia,” Roddick said on the Served podcast.
“It makes me sad because of how well he played at the beginning of the last year, through April, through the French Open.
“To pull out of the US Open after the first round, to not play anything, and then you have months, it’s hard to pull a rabbit out of the hat with injury; you need time to recover.
“When you have months, and you’re pulling out of the Australian Open three or four weeks in advance, that seems concerning to me.”
On Monday, Draper’s return to competitive play was confirmed. The 23-year-old has been named in Great Britain’s Davis Cup squad, who are set to face Norway from February 5 to 6.
“I hope so, I hope that’s right,” Roddick said of Draper’s inclusion in the Davis Cup squad.
“That’s great news; he’s obviously incredibly marketable; you need to market people. Draper, if he’s winning going into Wimbledon, that’s great for tennis.
“The coverage, everything that he adds to the game, and we are kind of victims of the moment, but he’s one of the guys that has the weaponry… he took out Carlos [Alcaraz] at Indian Wells last year, he has the weaponry to be a disruptor and to win on different surfaces.
Where will Jack Draper be ranked by the end of 2026?
“That’s what gets my attention in the off-season, like gosh, you hope this isn’t overly concerning. When I saw that, I kind of just went ‘urghhh’, I don’t like that.”
How many points will Jack Draper lose at the Australian Open?
At the 2025 Australian Open, Draper won three five-set contests against Mario Navone, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Vukic.
In the fourth round, the young star retired from his match against Carlos Alcaraz after losing the first two sets, 7-5, 6-1. As a result, he earned 240 ATP points.
With Draper unable to compete at this year’s event, he will lose those 240 points upon the tournament’s conclusion on February 1.
Without taking into account any potential points gained or lost by his peers, Draper is set to join Casper Ruud on 2,750 points – the number 12 spot in the ATP rankings.
Ruud will likely overtake the British star: the Norwegian player was knocked out in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open and therefore has a great opportunity to boost his ranking at this year’s event.
