The Indian Wells tournament has seen yet another injury-related withdrawal, as Britain’s Jack Draper had to retire from his fourth-round match with Carlos Alcaraz due to a stomach muscle injury.
Draper was already dealing with a recent hip issue and had heavy strapping on his right leg when he took to the court. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire after trailing by a set and 2-0, with his serve speed dropping in the late stages of the first set.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Draper revealed that he didn’t want to risk further injury by continuing to play. He explained that his abdominal muscles had started to feel sore during his match against Andy Murray on Monday, and by the time he woke up on Tuesday, the pain had worsened.
Despite trying to play through the pain, he found that he couldn’t serve properly, and ultimately decided to retire from the match against Alcaraz to avoid causing further damage to his body.
This injury is a disappointing end to Draper’s promising run at Indian Wells, but it’s clear that he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport. With his impressive performances at the tournament so far, he has shown that he has what it takes to compete with some of the best players in the world.
