British star Jack Draper has been ruled out of Wimbledon due to a recurrence of an arm injury.
Draper has followed Emma Raducanu in withdrawing from the Grand Slam in a nightmare 24 hours for British tennis.
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.
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Jack Draper reflected on his battles with injury and speaks of the influence that Andy Murray has had on a difficult period in his career
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.
The former world No 4, 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!!”
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.
An injury crisis in elite tennis?
Draper has raised concerns about the injury crisis in elite tennis
It’s a bitter, bitter blow for former British No 1 Draper, who had just returned to competition after being afflicted by injuries for months.
Now physical issues mean neither of British tennis’ biggest stars, Draper and Raducanu can take part in Wimbledon this year.
Only on Sunday Draper himself was raising concerns about the injury crisis in elite tennis.
He said: “Last year I would say I did well in the Masters 1000s. I was really trying to develop my game and push my game more and more every week to reach those guys like [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner, who obviously play at an incredibly high level.
“I just broke down.”
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Draper opens up about his recent struggles with injury and hails the impact of new coach Murray
He added: “I think it’s pretty worrying the state of men’s tennis, especially right now. The amount of injuries, especially through young players, [Lorenzo] Musetti, I know [Arthur] Fils has had a lot of trouble, Alcaraz’s wrist. When I look at the draws for the weeks when I was out, everything is shoulder, arm, wrist. Whether that’s the quality of the balls… I don’t think there’s more matches nowadays and stuff.
“I think definitely the way athletes are getting better and hitting the ball harder and moving better, I think it’s my opinion they need to really take a close look at what we’re doing on tour. Definitely the state of the Masters 1000s, the 12-day events.
“I was privy to those conversations when I was a top-10 player. Now I’m not.
“I think the tournaments are going to suffer a lot if not much changes. I think it’s a really important topic. I hope that as time goes on things do change.”
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