​Looking back to the eve of Wimbledon, Jack Draper now seems almost prophetic. He had warned that the state of men’s tennis was worrying, with a troubling number of injuries among young players. The following day, a “devastated” Draper withdrew from Wimbledon after suffering a sudden relapse of the arm injury that had derailed his career last year. He described the latest setback as the absolute worst moment in the past 12 months, a brutal twist that underscored his concern.
Yet Draper wasn’t alone in his worries. At last year’s Wimbledon, several top players were already sidelined, and this time four of the current top-10 were missing from the tour due to injuries. The most prominent case is two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, out with a wrist issue, but the list also includes Lorenzo Musetti, last year’s semi-finalist, and Holger Rune, a former quarter-finalist. Rune, 23, has been out since October after tearing his Achilles tendon during a Nordic Open semi-final in Stockholm, an moment that was painfully memorable for the audible rupture as he chased a ball.
Draper, who was also dealing with a left-arm injury, had expressed pride in being part of a generation of remarkable young players but stressed that the tour and calendar would need to adapt to allow for longevity. “The tour and the calendar have to adapt if any of us are gonna achieve some sort of longevity,” he said. By eight months later, Draper could again see little change, and he soon became the 11th withdrawal from the men’s draw. The sport’s increasingly physical nature, a packed schedule, faster courts, and ball conditions are all cited as factors contributing to players’ struggles with load management. Draper noted that when he looked at the draws for weeks he was out, the common injuries were to the shoulder, arm, and wrist, and he questioned whether the quality of the balls or other changes might be playing a role. He also reflected on how players should be at their physical peak mid-year, but the sport’s long season has sparked discussions about burnout, which have historically surfaced in October, around the time Rune was injured and after a punishing Shanghai Masters week. Draper had previously criticized the now-extended 12-day Masters events, labeling them “lonely” and arguing they added to the strain players face, a concern that resonated with his experiences of the tour’s demanding schedule.