Jack Draper Admits Chasing to Reach the Level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner Led to His Injury

At this time last year, Jack Draper was ranked World No.4 and dubbed the best player to challenge the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on tour. Fast forward to today, the Briton is currently World No.131, which is far from achieving the dream challenge against the two top players in the men’s circuit.

Draper’s drop in the men’s circuit was down to the number of injuries he suffered on tour. After the Wimbledon Championships last year, he was diagnosed with bone bruising, which forced him to miss the Canadian and Cincinnati Open. After playing his opening match at the US Open, he suffered a shoulder injury.

Since then, the former British No.1 has been grappling with either a shoulder or arm injury, which has forced him to miss significant portions of the season. This season, Draper has competed in just five tournaments, retiring from two of them and enduring a lengthy spell away from tour competitions.

With Sinner and Alcaraz increasing the gap between them and other players on tour, Draper is nowhere close to their level. The former World No. 4’s biggest goal now is playing consistently on the court and getting his best game rhythm. He achieved that at the Eastbourne International, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Ugo Humbert.

Eastbourne was his first tournament since the Barcelona Open and his run was a sign of good things to come for the 25-year-old. Ahead of his opening match at Wimbledon on Tuesday (June 30), Draper acknowledged that his goal of reaching the level of Sinner and Alcaraz led to a series of injuries in his career:

My arm injury, for instance, was something I couldn’t foresee. It was bad luck. With muscles, it’s more of a load thing, and bones as well. We’re in a sport where we’re competing and practising all the time, trying to improve every week. Last year I was trying to push my game more and more in Masters 1000s to reach players like Alcaraz and Sinner, who play at an incredible level. I broke down.

Draper defeated Marcos Giron, Jack Pinnington Jones, and Gabriel Diablo in straight sets in Eastbourne, which was impressive having been more than two months injured. Last year, Draper couldn’t get past the second round of Wimbledon despite his impressive display at the Queen’s Club Championships.

Jack Draper says the number of injured players in the men’s circuit has become worrying

This season has witnessed several top players sidelined from tour competitions due to injury. Carlos Alcaraz, one of them, has not taken part in any tournament since the Barcelona Open first-round win against Otto Virtanen. As of today, there’s no information as to when he will be back on the court.

Arthur Fils, Lorenzo Musetti and Jack Draper have also suffered setbacks in their careers due to injuries. It has become an alarming situation on tour, which several players have called on the tennis governing bodies to look into. Draper revealed in the aforementioned press conference that injuries affect players’ careers:

It’s worrying, the state of men’s tennis right now in terms of injuries, especially among young players—Musetti, Fils, Alcaraz with wrist issues. It’s almost always shoulder, arm, wrist. Whether that’s the balls or something in the game, I don’t think there are more matches than before, but players are getting better, hitting harder and moving better.

Draper was supposed American star Taylor Fritz in the first round of Wimbledon. The tie was one of the most anticipated clashes in the tournament’s opener, but the British star has withdrawn from the tournament. However, Fritz, who reached the final of the Stuttgart Open and the Terra Wortmann Open in Germany, will face Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday (June 30).

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Reveals Motivation Behind Building A Lasting Legacy in Tennis