British tennis player Jack Draper has not played competitive tennis since he was forced to withdraw from the 2025 US Open mid tournament.
A left arm injury which did not require surgery has kept him off the ATP Tour for months and out of the ATP Finals which he most likely would have qualified for.
The bad news is that fans will have to continue to deal with Jack Draper being absent from the tennis scene.
Draper recently announced that he will not play the 2026 Australian Open.
Jack Draper Shares His Reason For Not Playing Australian Open
In a video for his social media page, wearing a hat and glasses that made him virtually unrecognizable, Draper says a key reason for skipping the Australian Open was because of the best of five set format. He mentions the injury has been challenging and his inability to be ready for best of five set play at this point in his recovery.
Because he mentions that specifically, it makes me wonder if the defending Indian Wells champion would be playing in Melbourne if it was a best of three set format.
— jack draper (@jackdraper0) December 26, 2025
That brings up the age old question of whether the men’s Grand Slams should still be best of five.
Should The Grand Slams Go To Best Of Three?
The Grand Slams are the only tournaments that are best of five from first ball to final match.
Rafael Nadal spoke about this a few years ago, and he believes with the days off built in and the history associated with them, the Grand Slams should remain best of five.
“We have a day off, I think best of five makes a difference in these tournaments, the Slams…it’s part of the history of our sport.”
Best of five or best of three at Grand Slams? @RafaelNadal weighs in.#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/iM2l4kKSKN
— TENNIS (@Tennis) November 16, 2020
Without the best of five format, fans would have been robbed of the 2025 French Open instant classic with Carlos Alcaraz coming back from two sets down in the final against Jannik Sinner.
Vamos 🇪🇸
It took over five hours, but Carlos Alcaraz comes back from two sets down to defend his French Open title 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/R6yx7alVy6
— ESPN (@espn) June 8, 2025
The best of three could elongate careers and perhaps reduce injuries, and it would certainly benefit older players like Novak Djokovic.
It will probably never happen, but with the tour growing longer and more concentrated with tournaments, the discussion is a valid one that has pros and cons.
