Jack Draper is expected to return to competition for Britain’s Davis Cup qualifier tie against Norway next month. The world No. 10 has not played a match since August, when he won his opener at the US Open and then withdrew from the tournament. Draper has been plagued by an arm injury, which forced him to end his 2025 season early and also led to his withdrawal from the entire Australian swing, including the United Cup, Adelaide International, and Australian Open.
But the British No. 1 will now represent his country in the World Cup of men’s tennis after being named in a strong five-man lineup, which also includes the No. 1 doubles team, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
Draper, Cash, and Glasspool will represent Team GB, along with British Nos. 2 and 3, Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley. Britain will head to Oslo for their qualifier tie against Norway. The winning nation will progress to the second round of qualifiers in later in the year, where teams will then play for a place in the Davis Cup Finals.
Naming his team for next month’s tie, British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said: “It’s great to be putting forward our strongest team for February’s Qualifier tie, with our top three ranked singles players and the current No.1 ranked doubles team in the world. We know we need a strong squad to face a high-quality Norway team at home but we’re all looking forward to the challenge in Oslo.”
Draper was expected to return to action in a different team competition, the United Cup, this week. The three-time title winner was expected to represent Britain alongside Emma Raducanu and co under the watchful eye of captain Tim Henman.
But on Boxing Day, the 24-year-old took to social media to announce that he would not be competing in Australia altogether. It means Draper will also lose 200 ranking points from reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2025.
“Hello everybody, instead of writing out a message, I thought I’d send a little video recording to let you know of my progress. Unfortunately me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year. It’s a really, really tough decision with Australia being a Grand Slam and one of the biggest tournaments in our sport,” Draper said in a video.
“However I’ve had this injury for a long time. I’m at the very, very end stages of the process. To step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn’t seem like a smart decision for me and my tennis.
“I’ve obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks so far but by far and away, this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging and the most complex one that I’ve had. It’s weird, it always seems to make me more resilient, to make me hungrier to become the player I want to become even more.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there in 2026 and competing. I just want to thank everyone for all the support in 2025. It means the world to me to be competing and to be playing out there on the tour with the other guys. I’m looking forward to doing that again. Take care everyone and thank you for the support.”