Jack Draper made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
has opted out of the upcoming Rotterdam Open, with the Brit’s next outing to come at the Qatar Open two weeks later.
In his first Grand Slam appearance since reaching the US Open semi-final, Draper progressed into the fourth round of the but was forced to retire hurt two sets down against .
Draper admitted post-match he’d come into the new campaign undercooked after a hip issue flared up a week into his pre-season preparations and the decision to retire was precautionary.
However, one week later, Draper has delayed his return to the court and won’t be in attendance for the ATP Tour 500 event in Rotterdam, which is due to get underway on Monday.
Draper followed a similar schedule last year, with his first post-Melbourne appearance coming in Mexico at the Los Cabos Open on 20 February, whereas this time around it’s set to be in Doha.
Managing his fitness and avoiding serious injuries will be one of Draper’s main goals for 2025, otherwise, the 23-year-old is going to struggle to achieve his goal of consistently challenging Alcaraz and world No.1 .
Draper revealed that was high up on his list of targets for the 2025 season after winning his second of two ATP Tour finals last year at the Vienna Open.
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Jack Draper pulled out of his Australian Open with an injury (Image: Getty)
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In a bid to be fitter for the upcoming year, Draper has reportedly started working with old strength and conditioning coach, Matt Little, as per .
Little was credited with helping extend Murray’s career deep into his thirties, with Draper hoping the coach can work his magic on him.
Little is renowned for being a forthright operator, with the strength and conditioning coach telling Christian Bosse in an interview: “When they [tennis stars] compete all year round, you have to force them to take a training block.
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“You have to force them to put their rackets down and prioritise the physical work. So it’s really sitting down with the coach and the player and asking what part of the year are they going to say is not a priority for them on the court…
“Then also trying to pick out two or three-week blocks, maybe twice more in the year, a game where the physical development is going to take priority. Because if you don’t do that at the start of the year, you certainly won’t be doing it halfway through the year.”
All things being equal, Draper should return to the court in mid-February.