Jack Draper has withdrawn from the Mubadala DC Open in Washington on the eve of his opening match, as the persistent bone bruising in his serving arm continues to derail the British left-hander's season.
The 24-year-old former British No. 1 pulled out of the ATP 500 event on Monday after feeling renewed soreness in the problematic arm, just weeks after he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon. Draper had been training under new coach Andy Murray and appeared strong in practice, but the discomfort recurred before his first-round match.
"These last months have felt like nothing but adversity and setbacks," Draper wrote on Instagram following the announcement. "Most days I've spent in doubt, yet hopeful that I can keep taking positive steps forward and finding ways to progress."
Draper, who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2024, has managed only 14 matches in the past 12 months. The bone bruise in his humerus — which he describes as "complicated" — has resisted rest and rehabilitation. An earlier comeback this season was interrupted by tendinitis in his knee, and the three-time ATP Tour winner had not played for more than two months before returning at Eastbourne in June.
That run to the Eastbourne semi-finals came at a cost, with the arm injury flaring up again and forcing him out of his home Grand Slam at Wimbledon. "I wouldn't be competing anywhere if there was a chance that I'm going to get a lot worse," Draper had said.
Ranked 147th in the world, Draper has not contested a major since the US Open last August. If he is fit enough to return to Flushing Meadows this year, he will need to come through qualifying or receive a wildcard. He remains hopeful of playing the ATP Masters events in Montreal and Cincinnati before the US Open, which begins on 30 August.
In Washington, Draper has been replaced in the draw by lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald.
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