Jack Draper has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, where he reached the final last year, and the Italian Open due to a knee tendon injury.
The Brit has not completed a clay-court match this season after retiring from his opening round match in Barcelona against Tomas Martin Etcheverry as a result of the issue.
He did not play in the Monte Carlo Masters and has now pulled out of the next two Masters 1000 events on the surface, in the Spanish capital this week and in Rome next month.
The 24-year-old remains hopeful of playing at Roland-Garros in the second grand slam of the season, saying: “An aggravated tendon in my knee means I am not able to play in Madrid and Rome.
“It’s frustrating for sure but I am thankful it isn’t anything more serious, recovery is going well and I feel good about my chances of being fit for Roland Garros. I am looking forward to building momentum from there.”
The British No 2 has endured a frustrating eight-month spell, only playing one singles match over the second half of last season due to a troubling bone bruising injury in his left serving arm.
He has played a reduced calendar in 2026 thus far to manage that injury only to now be laid low by a right knee issue, which required heavy strapping before the final set in Barcelona. He retired when 4-1 down in the decider.
The former US Open semi-finalist has significant ranking points to defend over this section of the clay-court swing, having finished runner-up to Casper Ruud in the Madrid final last year and following that up with a run to the quarter-finals in Rome.
Failing to defend those ranking points means he will lose 850 and is likely to plummet outside the top 70 in the world rankings from his current position of 28th as a result. He will be unseeded at the French Open, which begins on 24 May, and likely for Wimbledon too.
After missing the clay Masters events his last chance to get match-fit before Roland Garros will come at either the ATP 500 event in Hamburg or ATP 250 in Geneva, both held the week before play begins in Paris.
The Madrid Open has seen several high-profile withdrawals, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz both withdrawing with injuries and Emma Raducanu, who is struggling to recover from a viral illness, also pulling out.
Draper’s counterpart as British No 2, Sonay Kartal, announced later on Monday that she would miss the entire clay-court season as a result of a recurring back injury, which hampered her on her run to the last 16 at Indian Wells and forced her retirement.
The 24-year-old wrote: “Sadly my back injury hasn’t improved as quickly as I would’ve hoped which means no clay season for me this year.
“Thanks for all the messages over the last few weeks, means a lot. Can’t wait to play in front of a home crowd soon! See you on the grass.”
