Jack Draper withdrew from the French Open on Wednesday because of the knee injury he sustained earlier this month in Barcelona.
“My knee is on the mend, and I’ve started back hitting balls, but unfortunately, I have been advised not to play Roland Garros,” Draper stated. “As gutting as it is to miss another slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five-set tennis on clay. Off the back of the arm injury I sustained last year, I’ve been restricted with my training, and by giving myself time to heal and build, I can be the player I want to be out there once again.”
Draper’s 2026 campaign appears to be tracking similarly to 2025, when he peaked at Indian Wells before being plagued by physical problems. The 24-year-old Brit, who won the Indian Wells title last spring, beat Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the quarterfinals in the desert a couple of months ago — in perhaps the match of the year so far. However, Draper has not won a match since (0-3) and retired against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Barcelona.
The world No. 28 has not played a Grand Slam match since round one of last summer’s U.S. Open. He withdrew prior to the second round and also missed the Australian Open earlier this season.
Draper’s exit from Roland Garros results in one more opportunity for someone else to earn a seed. With Rome still to go, the main battle is between Ugo Humbert (No. 33 in the live rankings), Rafael Jodar (No. 34), and Alexander Blockx (No. 35). Jodar reached the Madrid quarterfinals, while Blockx is in the semifinals after beating Casper Ruud on Thursday.
can’t stay healthy
Kokkinakis had the same pattern. Always off with injuries after playing well a short while. Fantastic gutsy comeback-from-surgery match in Adelaide versus Korda in January which he won, and out since. Allegedly returning at RG. He has a donor tendon graft on his pectoral attachment. Bit like Murray playing with metal hip replacements. Sadly I think he’s has his run at tennis and it wasn’t a clear run; tournament results rarely proportional to his talent. I do think it’s directly related to the force with which he was always hitting the ball. That’s similar with Draper.
Probably also a factor in Alcaraz’s wrist injury. It’s interesting that Sinner hasn’t really has much injury down time. Maybe the enforced three month break last year had a silver lining.