Carlos Alcaraz: Jack Draper suffers ‘physical mishap’ as pre-season plans disrupted | Tennis | Sport

Jack Draper has been forced to cancel his pre-season trip to Spain, where he was set to hit with Carlos Alcaraz, due to an injury, according to reports. The world No. 15 had planned to build on his Stuttgart and Vienna titles by preparing for 2025 with Alcaraz at the Ferrero Tennis Academy in Villena.

However, Marca report that Draper suffered a physical mishap in his final training session before jetting off to Alicante and will no longer travel.

The injury not only comes as a blow for the Brit, but it has disrupted Alcaraz’s pre-season schedule as he looks to add to his four Grand Slam titles next year.

Alcaraz reportedly started his preparations with physical work on Monday, having returned home after exhibition matches in New York and Charlotte during the off-season.

The 21-year-old was due to be joined by Draper and world No. 23 Flavio Cobolli – who he also trained with last year – when he returns to the court on Thursday.

But now, only the latter will be present as a result of Draper’s frustrating setback. He was heading to Spain after Andy Roddick urged him to stop training in the UK and find another base in warmer conditions.

Mark Petchey went as far as to tell the 22-year-old to move to a “hot, humid place” to help improve his performance in more intense conditions.

Draper vomited on the court during his US Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner in September. At the start of the year, he was sick after a five-set win over Marcos Giron at the Australian Open.

James Trotman, Draper’s coach, had expressed their excitement over the prospect of heading out to Spain to work with a player of Alcaraz’s ilk this month.

“It’s incredibly important to spend time with the best players and experience that on a daily basis. We’re looking forward to it,” Trotman told Mail Sport.

Draper and Alcaraz share a positive relationship away from the court. Last year, Laura Robson revealed the latter offered support after his Indian Wells injury.

She said: “I was actually speaking to Jack Draper back in Miami after he’d had to pull out of the tournament there, having injured himself in Indian Wells.

“He was getting texts from Carlos saying, ‘Let me know if you need anything. Reach out if you want to have a chat about how you’re feeling, about having so many injuries on and off’.”

Draper beat Alcaraz at the Queen’s Club in June as part of a breakout season on the ATP Tour, lifting his first two titles and achieving a career-best world ranking of No. 15.

But after his unfortunate winter hitch, he might not enter the 2025 season in the condition he would like.