Jack Draper has hit another obstacle with his fitness at the Barcelona Open.
The Brit had to retire from his opening match at the ATP 500 tournament against Tomas Martin Etcheverry due to a knee injury.
This setback comes just two months after Draper’s return to the tour, following a six-month spell out with bone bruising in his left serving arm.
Since coming back, he’s played in the Davis Cup, Dubai Tennis Championships, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open and Barcelona Open, posting a 5-4 record so far this season.
After picking up another knock in Barcelona, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski said Draper’s situation is now becoming a worry.
Draper has been dealing with one setback after another this season. Before heading to Spain for the Barcelona Open, he spoke about how tough it’s been just trying to stay fit long enough to build some form again.
During an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg’, Rusedski shared: “Jack Draper, the shoulder is good finally, and then all of a sudden the knee goes out.
“This is disconcerting because you have six to seven months off, and then all of a sudden you start to get a little bit of momentum, and it’s not the main injury you’ve been away for, but it’s the knee.
“We’re hoping that’s not too serious because Jack is too talented a player not to get back. At the end of the day, the very best players have that extra belief, and they don’t care about taking that extra time off.
“If you come back too soon, and you’re not fully healed up and ready to go, you get another injury, because the body is not used to it.
“So you have to play those practice sets. You don’t want to rush it back.
Draper’s hopes of returning to Roland Garros, where he reached the fourth round in 2025, now look uncertain after his latest injury setback.
Last year at Roland Garros, Draper beat Gael Monfils and Joao Fonseca before losing to Alexander Bublik. This time around, he has just one month to get back into form before the French Open kicks off on 18 May.
In addition to the short timeframe, his chances of returning are slim after how long he was out. There is a small silver lining for him though because there are still two events between now and Roland Garros.
The Madrid Open and Italian Open both take place before Roland Garros, offering Draper potential opportunities to test his fitness if he recovers in time.
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