Jack Draper was reduced to tears after a hard‑fought defeat to France’s Terence Atmane at the Canadian Open, a match that seemed to expose the lingering effects of a chronic arm injury that has plagued the young Brit since his Wimbledon withdrawal. This was only Draper’s sixth tournament of the season and his first appearance on tour after pulling out of Wimbledon, yet the emotional scene at the end of the three‑set battle suggested that the physical setback may be weighing heavily on his mind.
The match began with a tentative start for Draper, who dropped the opening set 6‑3 as he tried to find his rhythm. After a sluggish first set, he appeared to rediscover his form in the second, dominating Atmane 6‑2 with aggressive baseline play and a noticeably sharper serve. For a brief period it looked as if the 24‑year‑old was back on his upward trajectory, threatening to cement his place among the new generation of men’s tennis that includes Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. However, the third set told a different story.
Draper’s power faded dramatically; his first‑serve speed plummeted, and his groundstrokes lacked their usual depth and penetration. When the score slipped to 4‑1 in Atmane’s favour, Draper sat down on the court, covering his face, and began to weep uncontrollably during the changeover. Despite the emotional outburst, Draper fought on.
He managed to break Atmane’s serve once, then held his own serve with renewed determination, but the damage had been done. Atmane sealed the match in 1 hour and 52 minutes, winning 6‑3, 2‑6, 6‑2. The scene was captured by Sky Sports commentator Annabel Croft, who described the moment as "very upsetting" and "emotionally charged," noting that Draper’s tears were likely linked to the pain in his left arm, a bone bruise that first emerged earlier in the season and has continued to hinder his performance. The injury narrative is not new for Draper.
Earlier this year, after a promising run that saw him rise to a career‑high No. 4 in the world rankings in June 2025, he began to experience a persistent bone bruise in his left arm. The condition has forced him to withdraw from several high‑profile events and has limited his ability to generate the power that has become his trademark.
In 2026, he managed to reach the quarter‑finals at Indian Wells in March and the semi‑finals at Eastbourne in June, but those achievements have been interspersed with long periods of inactivity, raising concerns about his long‑term durability. Since May, former world No. 1 Andy Murray has been part of Draper’s coaching team, offering both tactical guidance and mentorship. Montreal, however, marked only the second tournament where Murray’s influence could be observed on court.
The emotional episode has sparked fresh speculation about Draper’s fitness ahead of his upcoming wildcard entry into the Cincinnati Open and the US Open later this month. While the British tennis community rallied behind him—Jacob Fearnley advanced by beating Adrian Mannarino, and Cameron Norrie secured a win over Ignacio Buse—the spotlight on Draper’s health intensified. Croft’s commentary captured the poignancy of the moment: "He’s bent over and literally erupting with emotion here.
It’s very, very upsetting to see. I can only assume that the arm is hurting. He couldn’t hold it in and he let it all out. You just wonder what is going through his mind for all that emotion to be there." She further explained that Draper’s second‑set resurgence gave hope, but the abrupt loss of serve speed in the third set made it clear that his arm was not allowing him to fire the big serves he normally relies on.
"He wasn’t going after big serves, he was rolling them in. He hasn’t really hit a serve since, and hasn’t really gone after any too many ground strokes either," Croft added. The broader ATP Tour also faced injury‑related drama, with Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing from the Cincinnati Open due to a right‑wrist problem.
Alcaraz’s absence has fueled doubts about his readiness to defend his US Open title, scheduled to begin on August 30. Despite not having played competitively since April, Alcaraz remains world No.
2, underscoring how injuries can disrupt even the most dominant players. Looking ahead, Draper’s immediate challenge will be to manage his arm condition while attempting to regain confidence on the court. Medical experts suggest that bone bruises can take several weeks to months to heal fully, and the risk of aggravation remains high if a player pushes too hard too soon. For Draper, a measured approach—perhaps focusing on shorter points, improving his movement, and employing a more varied serve strategy—could help mitigate stress on the injured arm while still allowing him to compete at a high level.
Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely as Draper heads to Cincinnati. If he can navigate the physical hurdle and channel the emotional intensity displayed in Montreal into constructive energy, he may yet fulfill the promise that propelled him to the top‑four of the rankings just a year ago. Until then, the tennis world remains hopeful that the young Brit will recover fully, return to his powerful baseline game, and re‑establish himself as a genuine threat to the established elite of men’s tennis.