British tennis star Jack Draper has spoken candidly about reaching his lowest ebb after 15 months of relentless injury woes left him sobbing on court during a first-round loss at the Canadian Open.
The 24-year-old, once ranked fourth in the world, was visibly distraught during a changeover in his three-set defeat to Terence Atmane in Montreal just over a week ago. With defeat looming, the left-hander spent an entire break between games weeping as more than a year of frustration boiled over.
It was a deeply unsettling moment for British tennis fans. Draper has plummeted from the sport’s elite to 143rd in the rankings, having competed in just six tournaments throughout 2026. The footage quickly circulated across social media, prompting widespread concern about the Londoner’s future in the game.
A bone bruise to his left arm, which first emerged in the spring of last year, has been the primary culprit behind Draper’s dramatic decline. The injury has proved stubbornly resistant to treatment, with every attempt to return to consistent competition ending in further setbacks.
Jack Draper has admitted to hitting rock bottom this year
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Compounding matters, knee tendinitis struck in April, leaving him battling pain on multiple fronts simultaneously. The cumulative toll forced last-minute withdrawals from both Wimbledon and the Washington tournament this summer.
Draper has not appeared at a single Grand Slam in 2026, missing the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and the Championships at SW19. His match against Atmane in Montreal was his first competitive outing in nearly six weeks, following a brief appearance at Eastbourne.
The stop-start nature of his recovery has also rendered him ineligible for a protected ranking.
Speaking to The Guardian ahead of his Cincinnati opener, Draper reflected on what triggered such raw emotion. “The reason I got emotional was that through all the challenges, you can forget who you are on the court,” he said. “And last week I felt like I couldn’t give any more. I was emotional because I didn’t recognise the player I was out on the court due to my injuries and due to probably the way I’ve been feeling for a long time.”
Yet the former world number four insists he has turned a corner. “When you reach rock bottom like that you can come back up again,” he told the newspaper. “Since then I’ve practised really well, I’ve had amazing support from the people around me and you get to a point more and more of acceptance. We’ve definitely reached that acceptance phase now.”
In a bid to alleviate the strain on his troublesome arm, Draper has overhauled his equipment setup. He has switched to a hybrid gut string arrangement and adopted an entirely different, more flexible racket frame — one that appears to come from a manufacturer other than his sponsor Dunlop, though he declined to address the speculation.
Jack Draper broke down in tears at the Canadian Open after his first-round defeat
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He has also enlisted Carlos Cano, a specialist serve coach with a background in chemical engineering and expertise in biomechanics, to help rework his service motion ahead of the US Open.
“I’m changing my string. I desperately don’t want to,” Draper admitted. “But it’s something I have to do for the nature of my injury. Same with the racket.”
His priority, he acknowledged, has shifted entirely away from performance and towards simply finding a way to stay on court.
Jack Draper continues to be plagued by injuries | GETTY
Draper is competing in Cincinnati on a wildcard, with his opening match against Spanish 20-year-old Martín Landaluce scheduled for Thursday.
The three-time ATP title winner was spotted practising the day after his tearful exit in Montreal, a signal of his determination to press on.
“At the very start of my injury, if I was to say to myself: ‘Right, I’m four in the world now, what’s the worst outcome?’ It would probably be where I’ve got to,” he said with a smile. “But there’s a certain peace in that and acceptance because I have to start again. And what a challenge.”
With the US Open fast approaching later this month, it represents his last opportunity to feature in a major this calendar year. Draper would likely require a wildcard there too, making a strong showing in Cincinnati all the more vital.
