Jack Draper has pulled out of this weekend’s Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), a tennis exhibition in London, as he continues to manage his return from a troublesome arm injury.
The 23-year-old has played only one singles match since a second-round defeat at Wimbledon this summer and has not played at all since the US Open due to bone bruising in his left arm.
He had been intending to make his comeback at this weekend’s three-day event at the Copper Box Arena, but has opted to delay his return instead.
The British No 1 posted on social media saying: “I’ve been working hard to get ready for the UTS but frustratingly I’m just not quite ready.
“It’s a tough call as I want nothing more than to compete but I’ve been advised to take more time. Sorry to let down fans and miss out on the event.”
A scan after Draper’s loss to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon revealed painful bone bruising in his upper serving arm, which had troubled him throughout the clay-court season.
The world No 10 was given a timeframe of eight to nine weeks post-Wimbledon to recover, and despite feeling more pain a scan prior to the US Open came back clear.
He played the mixed doubles tournament alongside Jessica and Pegula and won his opening singles match at Flushing Meadows but , and to let the injury heal completely.
Draper . “Essentially, I think I got a scan that gave me false hope, that maybe was reported wrong. I don’t regret playing [the US Open] because I’m an athlete, I want to achieve great things. I was in such a good place leading up to Wimbledon, with my ranking, with my tennis, that I wanted to keep pushing on. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t something that I could push on with.”
Despite barely playing a match in the second half of the season Draper has finished the year inside the top 10 after a stellar first half, which included runs to two Masters 1000 finals and a maiden title at that level in Indian Wells.
Founder Patrick Mouratoglou offered Draper a wildcard to the UTS, a short-format tournament with each match consisting of four eight-minute quarters.
He is now scheduled to make his return to the tour at the United Cup, a mixed-gender team tournament in Perth in early January. The season’s first grand slam, the Australian Open, begins in Melbourne on 18 January.