JACK DRAPER has pulled out of the UTS London Grand Final as he continues to recover from an arm injury.
The British tennis star, 23, hasn’t played since the US Open in August, where he was forced to withdraw after reaching the second round.
Draper had reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows with Jessica Pegula.
He then won his opening singles match against Federico Agustin Gomez to set up a second-round tie against Zizou Bergs.
But he had to pull out from his match in New York because he was still suffering discomfort in his arm.
There was a glimmer of hope that he could make a quick turnaround to return at the Copper Box Arena to compete for the £1.3million prize money this weekend.
However, Draper announced the agonising news that he still “wasn’t “not quite ready” for top-level tennis and apologised to fans.
He said: “I’ve been working hard to get ready for the UTS but frustratingly I’m just not quite ready.
“It’s a tough call as I want nothing more than to compete but I’ve been advised to take more time. Sorry to let down fans and miss out on the event.”
Draper was expected to miss the rest of the 2025 season after telling fans he had to rest the arm in a message on social media.
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He previously said: “Unfortunately, the injury to my arm is something I have to rest and means I’ll be sitting out the rest of 2025.
“It is very difficult for me to accept as I was building some incredible momentum this year and playing some great stuff.
“However I’ve been through this before..and I always come back stronger as I’m so motivated to fulfil my potential as a player.
“Huge thanks to everyone who backs me to do well and supports me on my journey. Can’t wait to get back out there and give it my all. See you soon!”
Draper’s promising career has been disrupted by a number of injury set-backs after previously struggling with a hip injury that ended his run at the Australian Open in January.
He had to retire from his fourth-round match against Carlos Alcaraz while trailing 7-5, 6-1.
Draper, who reached the semi-finals of the 2024 US Open last year, said his hip issue was a “ticking time bomb” that needed addressing.
He said at the time: “I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get MRI looked at and stuff.
“I have had a history of problems in that area. It hasn’t gone away. I’m still dealing with that.
“Obviously in the preseason, it [went] into my back and I couldn’t walk and it was really difficult. I have come here and I have been managing that.
“The key to stay injury-free and being consistent is having that consistency in your body time where you’re injury-free, time to train, time to get your body right.
“You’re always going to have stress through your body, but it’s important for me to just get my training load back up again, get this tendinitis or whatever I have going on sorted, so I can be consistent with everything that I’m doing again.”
