Draper drops out of US Open main draw after injury

Jack Draper will not be in the main draw when the US Open begins on August 30. His world ranking has fallen to 147th, a direct result of a recurring bone bruising in his left arm that has limited him to a handful of tournaments over the past year.

The 24-year-old missed Wimbledon due to the injury and is now scheduled to return at the DC Open on July 27. Because of his ranking drop, he faces the prospect of playing through the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw at Flushing Meadows, where he was a semi-finalist in 2024.

Draper's decline opens the field for a changing of the guard in British tennis. Arthur Fery has risen to 36th in the world after a surprise run to the Wimbledon semi-finals as a wild card. That ranking secures Fery, now the British men's No 1, a place in the US Open main draw for the first time in his career.

He will be joined in New York by compatriots Cam Norrie, Jan Choinski and Katie Boulter. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, is also in the draw at 37th in the world, just missing out on being a top 32 seed.

The tournament fields will be led by the winners of this year's previous majors. Jannik Sinner, who claimed his fifth major title by defeating Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon, is the men's top seed. Aryna Sabalenka leads the women's field as the two-time defending champion, attempting to become the first woman to win three consecutive US Open titles since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014.

Carlos Alcaraz is the third seed. The Spaniard, who defeated Sinner in the 2024 US Open final, has missed the last two majors with a wrist injury but hopes to return during the North American hard-court swing.