Jack Draper has withdrawn from the two Masters tournaments ahead of next month’s US Open, with a possible blow to his ranking casting doubt on his participation in what would be his first ATP Finals appearance at the end of the season.
The British No1 shared a statement on social media confirming that he will not take part in either the Canadian Open in Toronto or the Cincinnati Open in a bid to manage a minor left arm injury.
Draper revealed that he had picked up the complaint in the wake of Wimbledon, where the 25-year-old was unable to improve upon last year’s second-round exit, falling to a veteran Marin Cilic in four sets, adding that he was looking to ‘recover fully for the rest of the season’.
While the world No5 remains keen to take part in the final Grand Slam of the season, missing out on the two major events of the summer’s American swing could see Draper head to Flushing Meadows with a certain degree of ring rust one year on from his landmark semi-final against Jannik Sinner.
Draper will also be unable to defend his ranking points in North America – no major issue for his first-round exit in Canada, but the Briton reached the quarter-finals south of the border before he was knocked out of the last-8 by Holger Rune.
Hard-court is Draper’s preferred surface, and after admitting that his mastery of grass was some way off after his hasty SW19 exit at the start of July, stepping back from the two events will no doubt see him lose pace in the race to Turin, in which he currently sits fifth.
The American tournaments will begin in earnest for Draper’s compatriots, however, with Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Dan Evans competing in the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, DC this week.
Evans, who won the event in 2023, has been clawing his way back into the top 100 after his refusal to defend the points earned in the US capital in favour of partnering Andy Murray at the Olympics in Paris torpedoed his ranking.
The 35-year-old will begin his campaign to recapture the trophy against Zizou Bergs on Sunday afternoon, while Raducanu faces off against number-seven seed Marta Kostyuk and Boulter plays Maria Sakkari on Monday.
