Jack Draper pulls out of Queen's Club, targets Eastbourne return

jack draper has pulled out of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club and will now aim to return at Eastbourne. That pushes his match comeback closer to Wimbledon, with Eastbourne ending two days before the grass-court major starts.

Jack Draper and Eastbourne

Draper said his recovery is moving in the right direction, but he wants one more week before playing again. He added that it is “Very hard to miss one of my favourite events of the year.”

The 24-year-old British No 1 has not played since mid-April. His return from an eight-month arm injury has already been delayed by a run of withdrawals, including the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open.

Queen's Club and Wimbledon

Last month, his hopes of featuring at the French Open ended because of a knee injury. That left Queen's as another missed grass-court stop, even after he recently brought Andy Murray into his new-look coaching set-up for the grasscourt season.

Laura Robson said the Murray link adds pressure as well as support, while Tim Henman described Murray's grass-court record as a strong opportunity for Draper. Henman also said he was surprised Draper and Jamie Delgado had split, and noted that Draper looked like he was playing well when they were seen in Indian Wells.

Eastbourne is now the clearest next step for Draper, and the timing leaves little room before Wimbledon begins. If he gets on court there, it will be his first match since mid-April and his sharpest test before the season's biggest grass-court event.