Jack Draper ruled out of French Open and must prove fitness for Wimbledon
Jack Draper has announced his withdrawal from the French Open because of a knee injury, raising concerns over his fitness for Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old has played just 10 matches since last year’s Wimbledon and is intending to return either at Stuttgart from June 8, or at Queen’s the following week. His management also hope he will have a short training block beforehand.
But after the way recent months have played out, it will take a refreshed-looking Draper, free from medical tape and compression sleeves, to reassure his many admirers.
On Wednesday, Draper told his Instagram followers: “My knee is on the mend and I’ve started back hitting balls but unfortunately I have been advised not to play Roland Garros. As gutting as it is to miss another slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five set tennis on clay.”
As he continued, “Off the back of the arm injury I sustained last year, I’ve been restricted with my training and by giving myself the time to heal and build, I can be the player I want to be out there once again.”
The withdrawal means British interest at Roland Garros could be limited to Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter, with Emma Raducanu not having played since March 8 , and Sonay Kartal already ruled out with a back issue.
Draper’s management said he had picked up a knee-tendon injury in Barcelona just over a fortnight ago, but he had been spotted wearing tape on that right knee in several matches since returning from a long-term problem in his left elbow in February. There may have been a pre-existing concern before the knee flared up against Tomás Martín Etcheverry, forcing Draper to retire in the third set.
When he reached a high point of No 4 in the world rankings just before Wimbledon last year, Draper was on a hot streak that included a first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a runner-up finish in Madrid. He is now plunging back down the ladder as he loses those points, and will probably stand at somewhere around No 110 by the time the grass-court season begins.
He ought to be wary of coming back too soon after his false start at the US Open in late August, however. Perhaps partly motivated by last summer’s multi-million-pound kit deal with Vuori, he attempted to play through the problems in his serving elbow, but was forced to withdraw after one scratchy win and was then not seen on the match court for almost six months.
Raducanu’s French Open up in the air
Meanwhile, Raducanu is understood to be back training at the National Tennis Centre, which should at least give her a chance of playing next week’s WTA 1000 event in Rome.
Raducanu has withdrawn from three successive tournaments, citing the after-effects of a viral infection she suffered from in Romania in early February.
While Raducanu should in theory have enough time to get ready for the French Open, which starts on May 24, she has only ever played the tournament twice. In 2024, when her ranking was stuck in the low 200s after double-wrist surgery, she raised eyebrows by preferring grass-court preparations to the prospect of travelling to Paris for the qualifying tournament.
