Draper to miss Wimbledon because of shoulder injury

LONDON (AP) — Jack Draper will miss Wimbledon because of a shoulder injury that forced him out of Roland-Garros.

The 21-year-old British player said Thursday he needs time to recover from his latest injury setback.

At Roland Garros last Monday, Draper retired from his first-round match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry while trailing by a set and 1-0.

The 6-foot-4 left-hander, who is ranked 55th, had hoped to make his third appearance at the All England Club next month.

“It's clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be,” Draper wrote on Instagram. “My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass court season this year.”

In March at Indian Wells, Draper retired from his fourth-round match against Carlos Alcaraz because of a stomach muscle injury. A hamstring injury ended Draper's run to the third round of last year's U.S. Open.

“I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take,” he wrote Thursday.

Draper won't be the only young British star missing from Wimbledon. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, announced in May that she would be sidelined for several months to have procedures on both hands and an ankle.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports