Jack Draper won't join Carlos Alcaraz during the pre-season training in 2024, as he suffered an injury setback during his preparations.
Draper was supposed to train with Alcaraz. The two youngsters are known for their energetic tennis, and it seemed like they were a perfect match for the pre-season training.
Last year, one part of Alcaraz's preparations included training with Jannik Sinner, so being on the court with a young rival wouldn't be anything new for the young Spaniard.
Unfortunately, Draper won't be able to join Alcaraz during his preparations because of an injury that he picked up during his individual training.
That means Alcaraz will now have to look for different options, as Draper will be looking after his own body. Speaking recently during a charity event in west London, the British player detailed his situation.
"I've been working incredibly hard the last couple of weeks to get myself to hopefully improve for next year. I did have a little bit of a niggle in my hip area.
"And in terms of going away to Spain and training at that level of intensity with Carlos, I had to make that call because it's not fair on him if I go, and I am not 100%."
"It was something that we were really excited about, and something me and [his coach] James [Trotman] had been talking about for a while."
Although Draper doesn't think that the injury is too serious, he was aware of the fact that practicing with one of the best players in the world would require significant physical effort, and he wanted to avoid the possibility of making his injury worse.
That's why he has decided to give his body some rest and cancel those plans to avoid possibly ruining his own start of the upcoming 2025 season.
"To try to go out and hit with the best players in the world and get that exposure to the highest level possible on a regular basis to get prepared for the New Year."
"I don’t think it’s anything too serious but, because of tennis and the way it is with timelines and short turnarounds, it’s important that I look after my body, and important that I don’t try and do anything to potentially make it worse and jeopardise the start of my season."
Draper is supposed to start his new season already on December 27th, 2024, representing Great Britain at the 2025 United Cup. However, with his current physical state, it's not clear whether he will make it to the team competition.
"We’re going to see. I don’t know where I’m at with it right now. It’s kind of a waiting game to see how it settles. I really want to play the United Cup. But it’s obviously a long season and the United Cup is at the very start."
"So what’s more in my mind is that I’m going to be able to go to Australia healthy, and not just healthy but having trained well and be in a good place ready to play some really good tennis there."
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