Jack Draper to miss Dubai to ‘prioritise recovery’ and target Indian Wells title tilt
Draper will spend some time off court after his final defeat to Andrey Rublev in Qatar
Jack Draper has announced his withdrawal from the Dubai Tennis Championships in order to “manage” his body.
The Briton’s announcement comes the day after he fell to a three-set defeat in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final, losing 7-5 5-7 6-1 to Andrey Rublev.
The Dubai Tennis Championships begin on Monday but, following a period of recovery, Draper is targeting a return at next month’s Indian Wells tournament.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Draper said: “Unfortunately, I have made the decision to withdraw from Dubai Duty Free.
“After a great week at Qatar Open Tennis I’m taking onboard advice to prioritise my recovery and manage my body after a number of long matches, and give myself the best chance of competing consistently throughout the year.
“I’m gutted not to compete at such an amazing event but will look forward to returning to competition at BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open.”
Draper had been seeded seventh in the United Arab Emirates, with his place now to be filled by a lucky loser.
Daniil Medvedev is the top seed for the event, with Alex de Minaur, Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas among those also featuring.
The equivalent WTA event was won by Mirra Andreeva, with the 17-year-old becoming the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title.