Britain's Jack Draper pulls out of Wimbledon over injury
Jack Draper has followed Emma Raducanu in withdrawing from Wimbledon in a nightmare 24 hours for British tennis.
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Neither of Britain’s two leading lights will even take to the court at the All England Club after Draper revealed he has suffered a recurrence of his arm injury.
It is a devastating blow for the 24-year-old, who finally appeared to have put his latest fitness struggles behind him after a hugely difficult year in which he has played only a handful of tournaments.
Draper’s troubles began after Wimbledon last year, when he took nearly seven months off with bone bruising in his arm, and he then missed almost the entire clay-court season due to a knee injury.
The former world number four, who had been due to face sixth seed Taylor Fritz on Centre Court on Tuesday, said: “Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first-round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury.
“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon. I will continue to persevere through this. Thank you for the support.”
Read more: Emma Raducanu out of Wimbledon as she announces injury setback
Draper had finally returned to the court in Eastbourne last week for the first time since April and performed strongly, reaching the semi-finals under the guidance of new coach Andy Murray.
The former US Open semi-finalist gave no indication at a press conference on Sunday that he was a doubt for the tournament, saying he was “slowly but surely getting my body back to feeling great”.
Draper must hope that he will not be away from the court for another significant chunk of time but bone bruising is a difficult injury to shake off for good.
As well as more rehab for Draper, he also needs to resolve his coaching situation after agreeing to work with Andy Murray and former mentor James Trotman over the grass-court season.
Draper's withdrawal comes just one day after Emma Raducanu also withdrew from the tournament with an injury.
That came as significantly less of a shock given the 23-year-old had clearly been struggling during practice, although she, too, had been optimistic she could at least take to the court.
Writing on Instagram just after 10pm on Sunday, Britain's number one said: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but sadly I've had to withdraw from this year's Wimbledon.
"I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow but after a final scan tonight, the niggle I've been managing has developed into a stress fracture and I've been medically advised to stop pushing through."