The 2026 Australian Open will be held without Jack Draper after he withdrew from the event almost a month before its scheduled start.
Draper has been one of the best players on the ATP Tour in 2025, but also one of the players who struggled with injuries the most. Injuries have been a constant in Draper's career, and if he wants to take the next step forward, his health might need to become his priority.
That's the approach he's taking ahead of the 2026 Australian Open, as he will miss the Grand Slam tournament held in Melbourne from January 18th to February 1st, 2026. Although it's still almost a month before the tournament is supposed to start, Draper made the decision long in advance, suggesting the injury setback might be quite significant.
Draper has been battling a left-arm injury since the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. He played only one singles match after his second-round loss at Wimbledon, which was a first-round win at the US Open. After that, Draper withdrew from the last major of the season.
Now, he will miss the opening Grand Slam of the new season as well. Draper announced the news in a video on his social media profiles, opting to share it that way rather than a written message.
"Hello everybody, instead of writing out a message, I thought I'd send a little video recording to let you know of my progress. Unfortunately me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year."
"It's a really, really tough decision with Australia being a Grand Slam and one of the biggest tournaments in our sport. However, I've had this injury for a long time. I'm at the very, very end stages of the process. To step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn't seem like a smart decision for me and my tennis."
The fact that Draper has been struggling with the same injury for almost half a year is certainly not a positive sign. However, the British player hopes to return to the tennis courts in 2026.
"I've obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks so far but by far and away, this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging and the most complex one that I've had. It's weird, it always seems to make me more resilient, to make me hungrier to become the player I want to become even more."
"I'm looking forward to getting back out there in 2026 and competing. I just want to thank everyone for all the support in 2025. It means the world to me to be competing and to be playing out there on the tour with the other guys. I'm looking forward to doing that again. Take care, everyone, and thank you for the support."
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