Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu won’t be kicking 2026 off together as planned.
Emma Raducanu will be without Jack Draper’s help on and off the court after he pulled out of the start of the new tennis season through injury. The 24-year-old has been out of action since the US Open in late August, where he was forced to retire from his second-round match against Zizou Bergs after suffering an arm issue. Having withdrawn from several tournaments over the past month due to delays in his comeback, the world No. 10 had earmarked Down Under as the location for his return, but those plans have now been scrapped.
While it’s a hammer blow to Draper’s aims of regaining the momentum he had in the first half of the year, his absence also affects Raducanu. Draper’s decision to miss out on the Australian Open means he’ll also skip the United Cup – the tournament he was set to feature at alongside Raducanu as part of Great Britain’s squad a week before the major. It would have been the first time the British stars have teamed up to represent their nation in an official team event. The absence of someone with Draper’s talent will certainly hit Team GB hard. And not only will Raducanu and Co have to find a replacement for that tournament, but she will also be lacking him as a source of inspiration at the first major of the year.
The 23-year-old has previously practiced with her compatriot and it was during Wimbledon this past summer when she opened up about how they’ve supported each other on the way to becoming the faces of British tennis. She previously said of their rapport: “It’s amazing.
“I’ve known him for so long, so many years, and when we were both pretty promising juniors, and now to be British No. 1 on both men and women’s side as the real thing is, it’s pretty cool. He’s doing so well right now so this Wimbledon, I’m sure, for him, will feel different. But he’s in a great place, and hopefully his seeding can help him.
