Jack Draper played for the last time at the US Open in August, when he withdrew in his second round match due to pain in his arm, caused by a bone edema in his left arm, and decided to miss the remaining of the season to recover. He was scheduled to return at an exhibition event, at the Macau Tennis Masters on December 27-28.
However, the organization confirmed that Draper, alongside Jakub Mensik, had withdrawn from the tournament, and their spots will be filled by Ugo Humbert and Yibing Wu. He had previously retired from another friendly, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London that took place on December 5-7.
Now, there are doubts that Draper will be able to arrive in time for Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, an event where he reached four round in 2025, but also retired. Draper's 2025 season saw him climb to a career best World No. 4 after winning his first Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid Open final, but dropped to World No. 10 after his abscences the rest of the season.