Jack Draper reveals 'false hope' that led to him playing and withdrawing from US Open
NewsFriday, 07 November 2025 at 17:30
Jack Draper has revealed that a scan, which may have been incorrect, influenced his decision to play at the 2025 US Open.
Draper's opening-round victory at Flushing Meadows against Federico Agustin Gomez was Draper's last match before he withdrew from the tournament, ending his hopes of improving on reaching last year's semifinal.
His withdrawal from the US Open was caused by an arm injury. The Briton subsequently ended his season early because of that problem, and plans to return at December's Ultimate Tennis Showdown.
The arm issue first appeared during his defeat to Marin Cilic at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. He did not play in any of the tournaments before the US Open, and whether he would appear in New York was uncertain.
In an interview with the Independent, Draper revealed that a scan undertaken before the season's final Grand Slam did not reveal any issues, but thinks it must have been inaccurate after the injury got worse.
"I had to come back and find out what was going on. Essentially, I think I got a scan that gave me false hope, that maybe was reported wrong. I don’t regret playing [the US Open] because I’m an athlete, I want to achieve great things."
"I was in such a good place leading up to Wimbledon, with my ranking, with my tennis, that I wanted to keep pushing on. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t something that I could push on with."
Draper admits he has found sitting on the sidelines tough because he was working extremely hard to improve his game and reach a level good enough to consistently challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
"It’s been tough to watch because I was on a trajectory where I was trying my best to really catch those guys and do more and more with my game. There’s so many improvements I can make, physically, mentally, with my tennis."
"I can be more aggressive, I know that I’ve already got an amazing all-round game in terms of defending and my will to win, but now I think it’s about really utilising my weapons to be able to challenge, especially those two guys who are at the top of the game."
Jack Draper defends asking more prize money from Grand Slams
In the same interview, Draper was questioned about players wanting a higher percentage of revenue generated at Grand Slams to be left for players, and for the Majors to provide contributions in areas like healthcare and pensions.
Draper understands that top ATP and WTA players are already paid very well and said the move was caused by poor communication from the Grand Slams. The 2025 Indian Wells Open winner also insisted it was not just about money.
"We do earn a lot of money, I completely understand that. My granddad, he worked in a supermarket for 50 years, and sometimes he looks at my prize money and he says, 'Oh my God, what is this?' So I completely understand that side of things."
"There’s not been great transparency between the events and the players, and although there is a lot of money going to the players, I think it’s people outside the sport having an open mind that it’s not necessarily always the players complaining about wanting more money. Players are just advocating for positive changes because things aren’t good enough."
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