ack Draper has confirmed he will miss the entire grass-court season, including Wimbledon, due to a shoulder injury.
The 21-year-old was forced to retire in the first round of the French Open against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, serving underarm from midway through the opening set before eventually shaking his opponent’s hand after just 11 games.
That put his participation at Wimbledon, which gets underway on July 3, in serious doubt, and Draper has now taken to social media to reveal he will not be returning to competitive action until later in the summer.
He posted: “It’s clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be. My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass court season this year.
“I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take. The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering. Thank you for all the support I get on here it means a lot.”
It has been a frustrating season for Draper, who suffered with cramping during his defeat to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open and then retired from his match against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March with an abdominal injury.
He made his return from that issue on clay ahead of the French Open and was hopeful that his injury woes were behind him heading to Roland Garros, but admitted after then picking up a shoulder problem that he was “mentally destroyed”.
Draper’s absence at Wimbledon further weakens British hopes, as he joins Emma Raducanu in missing the tournament. The 2021 US Open champion underwent surgery on both wrists and her ankle in an attempt to finally resolve her long-standing injury issues.
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