Jack Draper is not playing at this year’s Australian Open.
The British No1 was supposed to be making his return to tennis in Melbourne after a long period out, but he is not part of the 128-strong main draw for the men’s singles competition Down Under.
Draper, 24, has only played one singles match since losing at Wimbledon in the second round last summer, where he was defeated in front of a home crowd by the crafty Croat Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
The Briton was seeded fourth at SW19, but could not bring his early-2025 form to the grass courts.
He was forced to hand Belgian Zizou Bergs a walkover in the second round of the US Open as he struggled with an arm injury.
It is that same arm injury that keeps him out of this year’s Australian Open, with Draper revealing on Boxing Day that he would not play Down Under.
Taking to his social media accounts, the Indian Wells champion said:
"Unfortunately, me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year," he said. "It was a really, really tough decision.
"Obviously, with Australia being a Grand Slam, it's one of the biggest tournaments in our sport.
"However, I've had this injury for a long time. I'm at the very, very end stages of the [recovery] process and to step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn't seem like a smart decision right now for me and my tennis.
"I've obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks but by far, this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging, the most complex one that I've had."
Draper had partnered Jessica Pegula in the reformed US Open mixed doubles event prior to the main draw at Flushing Meadows, where he and the American defeated Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva, before they were defeated by eventual runners-up Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud.
Draper’s absence at Melbourne Park leaves British representation in the men’s draw thin on the ground, with Cameron Norrie joined by Jacob Fearnley and qualifier Arthur Fery.
Norrie is coming off the back of a strong end to 2025, and he is seeded 26th for the year’s first Grand Slam.
He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, beaten by finalist Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, before losing to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the US Open.
He exacted his revenge on Alcaraz in the second round of the Paris Masters, before ending his year with a final defeat at the Moselle Open by American prodigy Learner Tien.
Fearnley, the world No77, was beaten by Norrie in the third round at Roland-Garros last year, building on his stunning victory over home favourite Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open.
Fery, the world No185, came through three stages of qualifying to reach the main draw, including defeating charismatic Australian Bernard Tomic in the second round.
He has earned himself an encounter with the 20th seed Flavio Cobolli.
