Jack Draper began the 2026 season as the ATP's top-ranked British player, but has taken a bit of a stumble lately thanks to some nagging injuries. Dealing with injuries to his arm and now his knee, Draper has been overtaken by fellow countryman Cam Norrie since the middle of March.
Draper has been leading the Brits on the men’s side of tennis since 2024, but the arm injury, which caused him to skip the Australian Open, has limited him to just five events and nine matches since returning to the courts in February. His most recent disappointment was a first-round retirement at the Barcelona Open against Tomas Etcheverry.
Now, with an aggravated knee tendon injury, Draper will be sidelined and fall outside the top 100 in the ATP rankings due to what he'll miss over the next few weeks, including one of the biggest events of the year.
Jack Draper forced to withdraw from the Italian Open and French Open due to his knee injury
Draper most recently withdrew from the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain, which is still ongoing, and also withdrew from the Masters 1000 event in Rome, set to begin next week. Those two withdrawals will already hurt Draper's rankings, but they won't hurt as much as the next big event he'll miss.
Having also withdrawn from the Franch Open later this month, Draper will fall outside the top 100 rankings on tour. Draper lost 850 points after dropping out of Madrid and Rome alone, so participating in Roland Garros will increase those points significantly.
Paris will be the second Grand Slam Draper will miss this year, leaving Wimbledon in June a question mark today. Luckily, Draper will be able to enter Wimbledon directly, as the cut-off will be before his drop outside the top 100 takes effect, but his recovery timetable also needs to be considered.
How this season began is a stark contrast to last year's start. Draper had reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world and won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. He followed that up by playing in both finals at Doha (Qatar ExxonMobil Open) and Madrid, and the quarterfinal in Rome.
In essentially a calendar year, Draper has gone from one extreme to the other, and unless his recovery from his current knee problems lifts soon, the disappointment of this season will continue. Furthermore, what Draper should want to avoid at all costs is a premature return; instead, wait until he's fully healthy again.
Should Draper be healthy enough to compete when grass court season begins, he will be unseeded at Wimbledon, which will place him in a tough draw likely to face the top-seeded players very early on.
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