British No. 1 Jack Draper has been forced to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters for the second year running, and the reason for his absences is all too familiar
In the relentless realm of professional tennis, few players embody the grind’s impact quite like Jack Draper. Britain’s No. 1 – and No. 7 globally – has been forced to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters for two years running – with both pull-outs stemming from the identical merciless factor: a calendar so brutal it’s left him battered and worn down.
What began as grumbling about a “mental” fixture schedule in 2024 has transformed into an genuine physical collapse – a harsh reminder that even the sport’s emerging talents cannot escape burn-out. A year ago, Draper’s choice to pull out of Shanghai wasn’t due to injury, but pure self-preservation.
Coming off a landmark US Open semi-final appearance, the then-22 year old had scarcely recovered. He’d followed his New York heroics with two draining singles defeats in Great Britain’s Davis Cup group matches in Manchester, battling against powerhouses like Frances Tiafoe and Gabriel Diallo, and it was clear he wasn’t 100 per cent.
“The schedule is mental,” Draper told reporters at the time, his exasperation overflowing as he chose to focus on recuperation before the Asian tour. Rather than flying to China for the ATP Masters 1000 clash, he bypassed it and went directly to the Vienna Open later that month.
It was a shrewd gamble that worked out brilliantly: Draper made it to the quarter-finals in Austria, demonstrating his concerns about the schedule’s madness. Tennis’s top-tier circuit, with its relentless hard-court slogs and globe-trotting demands, offers precious little time for recovery – and for a player like Draper, whose explosive style depends on sheer force, the mounting pressure was already sounding alarm bells.
READ MORE: Jack Draper ruled out for rest of season as Brit forced to miss £10m event with injuryREAD MORE: Shanghai Masters boiled over with three stars involved in umpire rows
Jump ahead to 2025, and those alarm bells have escalated into a proper crisis. Draper has been sidelined for the rest of the season, including missing a second straight Shanghai Masters appearance, due to a persistent bone bruise on his upper left serving arm.
The problem, a textbook example of repetitive strain, initially emerged during the spring clay-court season. Come Wimbledon in July, it had worsened significantly, and he was comprehensively beaten in the second round by Marin Cilic.
Medical examinations subsequently revealed the harsh reality: a damaged humerus bone, the sort of microscopic injury that develops from excessive repetition without proper recovery time.
This, naturally, isn’t some bizarre mishap. It’s the savage conclusion of that “mental” timetable Draper highlighted 12 months earlier. Following Wimbledon, he pulled out of the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Masters to recuperate, but the problem persisted.
He made a tentative comeback at the US Open – but withdrew before his second round meeting with Zizou Bergs after discomfort in his arm resurfaced. Days afterwards, he revealed the gravity of the situation: he’d be sidelined for the rest of 2025.
“It is very difficult for me to accept as I was building some incredible momentum this year and playing some great stuff,” he shared on social media. “However, I’ve been through this before and I always come back stronger as I’m so motivated to fulfil my potential as a player.”
Certain specialists highlight Draper’s serving technique as having both benefits and drawbacks. His thunderous deliveries – frequently exceeding 130mph – produce the aces that secure points but also punish the arm joint after joint.
“It’s surprised me a little bit that even when I do serve full out, my service numbers and my aces aren’t where I want them to be,” he told BBC Sport, adding that he’s contemplating tweaks, taking cues from Novak Djokovic’s more efficient, spin-focused serving approach.
“Sometimes almost reining it in is not a bad thing,” Draper noted. “You see the top servers ever to play – someone like a Novak Djokovic has such an underrated serve, and he hits his spots incredibly well. He’s not banging it at 140 [miles per hour].
“They are using their slices, the spins, different variations – so I think there is definitely something to be said in that. It’s not all about how fast you hit your service, it’s about how effective it is.”
For the time being, Draper can only observe from the sidelines as the 2025 season wraps up. But if the hiatus guarantees he returns completely healthy and prepared in 2026, the wait will prove worthwhile.