Jack Draper has officially withdrawn from another exhibition tournament, the MGM Macau Tennis Masters, taking place on December 27 and 28. The British No. 1 has been battling an arm injury, playing just one official singles match since Wimbledon. He won his opening round at the US Open before withdrawing from the tournament, and soon shut down his season.
Draper was set to make his return to competition at the UTS London Grand Final earlier this month, but pulled out days before the tournament got underway. And the world No. 10’s comeback has been delayed again after skipping the MGM Macau Tennis Masters.
Tournament organisers announced the news on social media on Tuesday, writing: “We would like to share that Jack Draper and Jakub Mensik have withdrawn from the 2025 MGM Macau Tennis Masters. However, we are pleased to confirm that France’s Ugo Humbert and China’s Yibing Wu will step in as their replacements.”
Tennis legends Conchita Martinez and Li Na are leading the teams at the two-day exhibition event. Humbert will now join Alexandra Eala and Juncheng Shang on Li Na’s team, while Wu joins team Conchita Martinez with Mirra Andreeva and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Draper has yet to address his withdrawal from the MGM Macau Tennis Masters. When he pulled out of the UTS Grand Final, he said: “I’ve been working hard to get ready for the UTS but frustratingly I’m just not quite ready. It’s a tough call as I want nothing more than to compete but I’ve been advised to take more time. Sorry to let down fans and miss out on the event.”
The 24-year-old is next expected to compete at the United Cup in early January, where he will join forces with Emma Raducanu, Lloyd Glasspool and co. to represent Britain. The British squad has been drawn in Group E with Greece and Japan.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Stefanos Sakellaridis, Petros Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari, Despina Papamichail, and Sapfo Sakellaridi will represent Greece, while Naomi Osaka, Nao Hibino, Shintaro Mochizuki, and Yasutaka Uchiyama are on the Japanese team.
It means that Draper will likely face Tsitsipas and Mochizuki in his singles matches, while Raducanu will take on Sakkari and Osaka. However, the 23-year-old is now in a race against time to be ready for the mixed-gender team tournament, which begins on January 2. Britain’s group ties will be staged on January 4 and 5.
Draper has also appeared on the entry list for the Adelaide International, staged the week before the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic is also set to compete at the ATP 250 event.
The world No. 10 initially shut down his 2025 season in early September after suffering from bone bruising in his left arm. At the time of his UTS withdrawal, his schedule was set to go ahead as planned.