Jack Draper insists he feels better now than he has at any other point in the last year, ruing the "perfect storm" of injuries that have derailed his season. 

Last week, Draper was forced to withdraw from the Washington Open on the eve of his scheduled meeting with Alex Michelsen.

Only a day before his withdrawal, the former British number one had described himself as "re-energised", having brought former three-time major champion Andy Murray back into his coaching team.

Draper has been restricted to just 14 matches across the last 12 months, missing all three grand slams so far in 2026.

He will have to go through qualifying if he wishes to participate at the US Open later this month, having tumbled from fourth in the world rankings to 147th.

But the 24-year-old remains upbeat about his prospects of getting back up to speed before the year is through, saying his injury woes have been misunderstood by many onlookers.

"I'm in the best place that I've been in the last year," Draper told Sky Sports News. "I am able to really progress and stay on the court, and I'm getting closer to that moment.

"That's why it's been difficult to go to tournaments and have to maybe pull out at the last minute.

 

 

 

 

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"But those are calls that I'm making based on the fact that I've got a long career ahead of me, and I've had to go there to know where I'm at.

"It really has been a perfect storm for me in a lot of ways. When I do get out of this storm, I'm going to be pushing on to hopefully get to where I want to be and beyond.

"It's important for people to recognise as well that the injury I have is very complex, it's very complicated and everyone is doing everything we can to keep moving along."

Draper has been handed a wild-card spot for the Canadian Open in Montreal, which begins on Monday, with his opening match coming against Terence Atmane.