Jack Draper addresses comeback after skipping tournaments and losing two US Open partners

Jack Draper has spoken out ahead of his return to action at the US Open. The British No. 1 has not played a match since his shock second-round exit at Wimbledon, pulling out of the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati citing an arm injury. He's also had some awful luck with the upcoming US Open mixed doubles event.

Draper was forced to re-enter the tournament with Paula Badosa when his first partner, Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng, announced a lengthy layoff after undergoing surgery. But Badosa has now withdrawn from the US Open, leaving the world No. 5 without a teammate.

Draper and Badosa received direct entry into the 16-team competition, which starts next Tuesday, thanks to their high combined singles ranking. For now, it's not known whether the Brit will attempt to enter again with a third partner.

The 23-year-old will still be plenty busy with his singles campaign after enjoying a career-best Grand Slam run at last year's US Open, reaching the semi-finals before losing to world No. 1 and eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

As he prepares to make a comeback in Flushing Meadows, Draper is keen to catch Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world's two best players who have shared the last seven Major titles between them.

"Jannik and Carlos are the best two players in the world right now. They are playing tennis, which is very exciting to watch; it's electric," Draper told the LTA ahead of his return.

"There are no holes in their game; they are so consistent and powerful. Mentally, they are both very experienced now on the big stages, and they are both complete players. Saying that, they can still improve, so it's really exciting to be around them.

"They are leading the way, but there are players like me who are hungry to go beyond their level and will do anything to get to where they are playing. I'm looking forward to many more matchups with them to come."

After being forced to miss the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, Draper has been putting in the hard yards at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

He added: "I found out I had an injury in my arm, which I had been playing with for a little while. The doctors and my team advised me that I'd need to take some time out. I had a few days off, so I chilled and took my mind off tennis.

"Then I was really motivated to come back and do a really good fitness block and work myself hard physically to make some good gains.

"I got back to my tennis slowly to protect my arm, but it's been a really productive few weeks now. It was disappointing to miss Toronto and Cincinnati, but I think it's been a good period for me to reflect on things and improve.

"I'm really looking forward to going out to the US Open, and I'm in a great place personally and tennis-wise. I feel refreshed, motivated, and I can't wait to get back out there."

If Draper can make it third time lucky with a potential teammate for the US Open, he will be back in action next Tuesday in the new mixed doubles event. The singles main draw gets underway on Sunday, August 24, and Draper is guaranteed to be a top-eight seed.

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