Jack Draper is forced to cancel pre-season training with Carlos Alcaraz as British No 1 suffers a hip complaint

Jack Draper has had to cancel his pre-season training camp with Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz due to a hip injury.

Mail Sport revealed last month that Draper would test his mettle against the world number 3 in Alicante next week, but he said on Wednesday: ‘I have a little problem in my hip area and when it comes to going to Spain and training at that level of intensity with Carlos, I had to make that decision because it’s not fair to him if I go and I’m not 100 percent.

‘I hope it’s only short-lived. I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it’s important that I take good care of my body and don’t do anything that could possibly make it worse and jeopardize the start of my season.

“Obviously it’s very disappointing, we were very excited about getting that exposure at the highest level possible to prepare for the new year.”

It has been a breakthrough season for the British No. 1 with the first two titles of his career, in Stuttgart and Vienna, and a run to the semi-finals of the US Open, which leaves him ranked No. 15 in the world. His stated mission for 2025 is to chase Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz at the top of the game, and in that context a week with the Spaniard would have been extremely valuable.

But Draper need look no further than the recently retired Andy Murray for evidence that hip injuries in tennis players are not to be trifled with.

“At this stage of my career the most important thing is that I can have a long career,” said the British No. 1. “A lot of athletes over the years have these little problems at a younger age, they don’t do much about it. they don’t explore it, and as they get older it becomes a big problem. And if they had managed that specific area better, it could have saved a lot of free time.”

The British No. 1 was keen to hone his skills against the Wimbledon champion but is nursing a hip injury

Draper led journalists on a Memory Walk along the banks of the Thames to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society

Draper spoke before taking us on a Memory Walk along the banks of the Thames to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. It is a cause close to the 23-year-old’s heart as his grandmother Brenda suffers from the disease.

“Now she’s just home,” he said of Brenda. ‘She’s not in any pain, she’s quite happy, but she was just sitting there and needs to be fed. I will definitely see her before I leave for Australia. I always feel a little guilty when I’m away.’