Jack Draper Withdraws From French Open With Knee Tendon Injury

Jack Draper has been ruled out of the French Open with a knee tendon injury, extending his absence from clay and leaving the 24-year-old British player facing a likely drop outside the men’s tennis top 100.

“- Published Britain's Jack Draper will miss the rest of the clay court season - including next month's French Open - because of an ongoing knee injury”

BBC

The BBC said Draper will miss “the rest of the clay court season - including next month’s French Open” because of an ongoing knee injury, and noted he retired from his one and only clay match of the season in Barcelona earlier this month due to a tendon issue in his right knee.

BBC

The Guardian described it as “another blow” in Draper’s attempt to re-establish himself after a long-term arm injury, and said he was diagnosed with an aggravated knee tendon injury.

Multiple outlets tied the decision to Draper’s own statement on Instagram, including the line: “My knee is on the mend and I’ve started back hitting balls but unfortunately I have been advised not to play Roland Garros.”

The Guardian added that Draper decided not to risk “best-of-five-set tennis on clay” and instead focus on recovering for the grass-court season.

Sky Sports reported that the French Open withdrawal also makes Draper “a doubt for Wimbledon,” while France 24 (AFP) said he had decided against risking further injury on the clay at Roland Garros and would try to regain full fitness ahead of grass.

The New York Times similarly said Draper will miss the rest of the clay season with a right knee tendon injury and “will likely drop out of the men’s tennis top 100 as a result.”

The French Open withdrawal sits at the center of a longer injury timeline that multiple outlets described as a sequence of setbacks across different parts of Draper’s body.

The BBC said Draper retired from his one and only clay match of the season in Barcelona earlier this month because of the tendon issue in his right knee, and it also said he had pulled out of back-to-back ATP 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome.

beIN SPORTS

It framed the knee problem as the latest in a career marked by injuries, adding that the serving-arm bone bruising had kept him off the tour since Wimbledon last year, with the Barcelona tournament described as “just the fourth event of Draper’s comeback.”

The Guardian similarly said the French Open ruling-out came after “a long-term arm injury ruled him out for the best part of eight months,” and it said Draper had managed nine matches in five events since returning in February.

Field Level Media gave a more granular match-and-date sequence, saying Draper did not play Monte Carlo earlier this month and that “on April 13 was forced to retire in the third set of his first-round match at Barcelona, his only clay court match of the season.”

Field Level Media also said Draper announced his withdrawal from back-to-back ATP 1000 tournaments in Madrid last week and Rome in early May, and it described his return from bone bruising in his serving arm that limited him to just one match last year after exiting Wimbledon.

The New York Times added that Draper had been forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open in August after reaching the second round, revealing he had suffered a bone bruise in his left arm, and it said he returned to ATP Tour action at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.

Draper’s own explanation for the withdrawal was quoted repeatedly, and it emphasized both the immediate medical advice and the longer-term training approach he said he was taking.

“Britain’s Jack Draper will miss the rest of the clay court season, including the French Open, as he continues to deal with a tendon issue in his right knee”

Field Level Media

The BBC reported that Draper posted on Instagram: “My knee is on the mend and I’ve started back hitting balls but unfortunately I have been advised not to play Roland Garros,” and it added that he said “As gutting as it is to miss another Slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five set tennis on clay.”

The Guardian carried the same Instagram message and expanded on it by quoting Draper’s reasoning that “Off the back of the arm injury I sustained last year, I’ve been restricted with my training and by giving myself the time to heal and build, I can be the player I want to be out there once again.”

Sky Sports also quoted the Instagram story and repeated the same core lines, including “As gutting as it is to miss another Slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five-set tennis on clay.”

Field Level Media likewise quoted Draper’s Instagram statement and framed it as the basis for his decision to miss the French Open and “the rest of the clay court season.”

The New York Times described the same statement as a posted message on Instagram Stories and said Draper felt he would not be ready for best-of-five clay-court tennis at Roland Garros.

BeIN SPORTS similarly said Draper announced he would miss the French Open with a knee tendon injury and quoted him from his Instagram story: “My knee is on the mend, and I've started back hitting balls, but, unfortunately, I have been advised not to play Roland-Garros.”

While all the reports agreed that Draper was withdrawing from the French Open due to a knee tendon issue, they diverged in how they framed the broader implications for his ranking, his schedule, and the wider British tennis picture.

The BBC said Draper is 28th in the world rankings but “will fall to around 50th after the completion of this week’s Madrid Open,” and it explained the points mechanics by saying he was supposed to be defending “650 ranking points.”

Flashscore

The Guardian emphasized the setback as part of a re-establishment attempt, saying Draper had been ranked in the world’s top four less than a year ago and was now “almost certain to be outside the top 100 when he returns,” and it also highlighted that the French Open main draw begins on 24 May with finals on 6 and 7 June.

Field Level Media gave a different ranking projection, saying Draper’s extended absence means he will likely drop out of the men’s tennis top 100 and calling it “a huge fall from his No. 4 ranking in June 2025,” while also stating he has “a 5-4 singles record in 2026.”

The New York Times offered yet another ranking figure, saying that “By the end of the clay-court season, Draper will have just 560 rankings points,” which “at present would leave him ranked No. 114.”

Sky Sports and The Independent both tied the withdrawal to Wimbledon uncertainty, with Sky Sports saying Draper is “a doubt for Wimbledon” and The Independent stating he is “now a doubt for Wimbledon” as well.

The Independent also said Draper was initially hopeful of recovering in time for the French Open which begins on 18 May, while the Guardian said the French Open begins on 24 May, creating a direct date discrepancy between outlets.

The immediate consequence of Draper’s withdrawal is a reshaping of his clay schedule and a shift of focus toward the grass-court season, with multiple outlets pointing to specific tournaments and dates.

“Draper out of French Open in fresh injury blow London (AFP) – Jack Draper announced Wednesday he had been ruled out of the French Open with a knee injury”

France 24

The BBC said Draper hopes to return for June’s grass court season but that by then he will almost certainly have fallen outside the world’s top 100, and it laid out a potential path beginning in Stuttgart where he won the title two years ago on 8 June before heading home to play at Queen’s Club in London.

France 24

The Guardian similarly said Draper will focus on recovering for the grass-court season and noted that Wimbledon’s start date is not given there, but it did provide the French Open finals dates as 6 and 7 June.

Sky Sports said Draper could potentially return at the grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, where he won his first title in 2024, and it gave the tournament start date as June 8, with the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club taking place in London the following week.

The New York Times stated that his plan is to return for grass season, which begins in earnest June 8, “the day after the French Open finishes,” and it also said he may opt to return at the Stuttgart Open, a 250-level grass event that begins Monday, June 8, or wait until Queen’s, which takes place the week after.

The Independent likewise said Draper could potentially return for the start of the grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, “That begins on 8 June with the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club taking place in London the following week,” and it added that if he misses either of those events it seems likely he may need to withdraw from Wimbledon as well.

Several reports also placed Draper’s situation within a broader British injury context, noting that Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal have also been sidelined, with the BBC saying Raducanu skipped Madrid to continue her recovery from a lingering viral illness and that Kartal will miss the entire clay season with a back injury.