Jack Draper, 24, pulled out of Wimbledon on June 29, 2026, because of a recurring bone bruise in his arm. He was due to face sixth seed and world number 7 Taylor Fritz in the first round before withdrawing [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Draper had initially been sidelined for seven months with the same arm injury from July 2025 until February 2026. He returned to competitive tennis this year, reaching the semi-finals at Eastbourne in late June following a break since April [1, 2, 7, 5]. Draper has also been managing a knee injury during 2026 [1, 4, 7, 5, 6].

The British player expressed serious concern about the rising injury rates in men's tennis, especially among younger players. "I think the state of men's tennis is pretty worrying right now," Draper said [1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 7]. He attributed the increasing injuries to heavier workloads, longer matches, fewer breaks between tournaments, and more physically demanding baseline play [1, 2, 8, 7]. Draper warned, "I think the tournaments are going to suffer a lot if not much changes. I think it's a really important topic" [1].

Draper noted how many top players are pushing their bodies to the limit, risking injury to keep rankings and earnings. "When I look at the draws, everything is shoulder, arm, wrist [injuries]. They need to really take a close look at what we're doing on tour," he said [8]. After limited play due to injury, Draper's ranking fell to around 160 [2].

He described withdrawing from Wimbledon as the "absolute worst" moment given the honor of playing on home soil. "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," Draper said [3, 4, 5, 6].

Other major players missing Wimbledon through injury include Carlos Alcaraz (wrist), Lorenzo Musetti (thigh), Holger Rune (Achilles), Tomas Machac (foot), and Arthur Fils [1, 2, 7]. Emma Raducanu also withdrew just before Draper with a stress fracture in her right leg [4, 8, 6].

Draper has worked with Andy Murray on coping with the mental and physical struggles of injury and expectations during his recovery [2]. His next scheduled event or return date has not been announced following the Wimbledon withdrawal [3, 4, 5, 6].