After suffering a hip injury, Jack Draper has cancelled a planned training week with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in preparation for the Australian Open.
Before the new season, the British No. 1, who took home his maiden ATP 500 championship at the Vienna Open last October, was scheduled to join Alcaraz in Spain, but he will now only be able to work out and train in the gym.
Draper said: “I’ve been working incredibly hard the last couple of weeks to get myself to hopefully improve for next year… I did have a little bit of a niggle in my hip area and in terms of going away to Spain and training at that level of intensity with Carlos, I had to make that call because it’s not fair on him if I go, and I am not 100%… It was something that we were really excited about, and something me and [his coach] James [Trotman] had been talking about for a while.”
He added: “To try to go out and hit with the best players in the world and get that exposure to the highest level possible on a regular basis to get prepared for the New Year…I don’t think it’s anything too serious but, because of tennis and the way it is with timelines and short turnarounds, it’s important that I look after my body, and important that I don’t try and do anything to potentially make it worse and jeopardise the start of my season.”
Draper for the United Cup
Draper is a member of the Great Britain team for the United Cup, which will start on December 27. However, following his injury, it is unclear if he will be able to compete in the event, especially if he wishes to be ready for the Australian Open.
Regarding his chances of competing, Draper remained hesitant. Along with Katie Boulter, he is one of the top players on Great Britain’s team for the event in Sydney and Perth.
“I really want to play the United Cup. But it’s obviously a long season and the United Cup is at the very start… So what’s more in my mind is that I’m going to be able to go to Australia healthy, and not just healthy but having trained well and be in a good place ready to play some really good tennis there,” he said.
The 2024 season was somewhat of a breakthrough for Draper, as he also won the Stuttgart title and advanced to the US Open semi-finals.
Source: Eurosport