Draper explains injury: “Maybe it was a ticking time bomb, too much overload on the body”

The Briton’s left hip gave way after three five-setters in a row and he faces time on the sidelines as it heals

@Zuma/PSnewz

January 19, 2025

Miracles do happen, occasionally, but in Jack Draper‘s case, the end was inevitable. You don’t go from not playing for two weeks in pre-season, nursing a left hip injury, win through three straight five-set encounters and then come up fresh for another battle. Not against Carlos Alcaraz.

The Briton’s Australian Open adventure came to an end with a retirement after two sets, Alcaraz leading 7-5, 6-1 before the pain became too much.

Chatting to a room full of British reporters soon after, Draper said he had been taking pain killers to manage tendinitis, which will need some treatment in the coming days and most likely, some time off the Tour to heal.

“There are two ways you can do that,” he said. “There’s obviously by doing rehab or maybe there’s an injection you can have into that area to help it. I opted to do the rehab. But obviously it hasn’t cleared too much. Maybe I’ll see what I can do with that.

“I don’t think it’s a long-term thing at all. I just need to be sensible because there is no escape from it, especially (because) the tennis schedule is so tight.”

“I’ve been unbelievably surprised at what I could do”

Draper said the hip pain had affected his back in December. Given that, and the lack of preparation, getting to the fourth round for the first time, with three five-set wins, was pretty close to miraculous.

“I have been unbelievably surprised with how much I have been able to play and put my body through, more than I have ever done before, especially,” he said. “I think it’s just one of those things, just massive overload. This area of my body, you know, if I don’t get that right and I don’t make good decisions, you know, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of that.”

“We were managing it. I didn’t feel amazing before my last match, but obviously got out there and it felt OK. Maybe it’s a little bit of a ticking time bomb, considering I had no preparation and no work for my body. I think I have really surprised myself with how much I have been able to put myself through.”

“It’s disappointing to pull out”

Draper said he felt bad having to pull out, especially playing against Alcaraz on one of the biggest stages in tennis.

“Any chance I get to play Carlos or someone of his calibre, it’s a great opportunity for me to show him that I can be a top player and be at their level,” he said. “These are the type of matches I want to be a part of and win and go deep in these big events.

“It’s tough to do that obviously with the amount of tennis I have played and what I have sort of put through my body, especially against someone like him, because you kind of need that explosiveness. You need to feel good about yourself. Obviously when you’re really struggling, it’s not ideal at all.

“It’s really disappointing and I never like to pull out. I’m someone who likes to give my all for everything, but I’m aware with injuries, especially in the past, I just want to make right decisions, because I don’t want months out. I want to be able to hopefully be able to play and get consistent, get consistent in my body and everything again.”