Injury has been an unwanted companion for Jack Draper throughout his career and his latest setback looks set to be the most costly of his career so far, as he is set to miss out on a succession of big-money cash windfalls.
Draper revealed after his defeat against Marin Cilic at Wimbledon that he was struggling with an arm problem that had been affecting him for the few weeks leading into the grass court season.
He then attempted to come back at the US Open and managed to get through a round in New York before pulling out of the final Grand Slam of the year and calling time on the rest of his 2025 season.
“Unfortunately, the injury to my arm is something I have to rest and means I’ll be sitting out the rest of 2025,” said Draper as he confirmed he was taking an extended break from tennis.
“It is very difficult for me to accept, as I was building some incredible momentum this year and playing some great stuff.
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“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.”
Draper’s injury was diagnosed as bone bruising and the best cure for that issue is rest, but the time he will be missing over the next few weeks will leave a huge hole in Draper’s bank balance and also hit his ATP Ranking.
The British No 1 started this season on sparkling fashion and enjoyed the biggest moment of his career when he won the Indian Wells Masters in March.
After that win in California, Draper appeared to be the most likely candidate to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game.
His run to the Madrid Open final on clay was further evidence of his rise, but Draper has struggled to maintain those standards as he nurses the arm problem that continues to trouble him.
By sitting out the final months of the year, Draper will see 700 ranking points drop off his total, with the bulk of those coming from his ATP 500 win in Vienna last October.
That drop will see him slide out of the top ten of the ATP Rankings by the end of the year, but it is the financial blow that may be harder to take.
Draper could have won the biggest cash prize in tennis as he was one of the select group of players invited to play in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia next month.
A win in that event could have seen him collect $6m and he is missing out on a guaranteed $1.5m appearance fee in that exhibition event.
He is also losing out on big prize money in this Asian swing of the ATP Tour and the indoor events, where he would have been expected to perform well.
Draper was also on course to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin for the first time in his career, where Jannik Sinner took home $4,881,100 after winning that event last year.
If Draper had enjoyed a winning run in this phase of the season, he could have conceivably collected in excess of $10m in prize money, but that is all on hold as he looks to get his arm right to relaunch his career in 2026.
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