Jack Draper's withdrawal from the Australian swing is a major setback for Great Britain's United Cup hopes as Emma Raducanu is now the only top-100 singles player representing her country.
In October, it was announced that reigning Indian Wells Masters champion Draper and 2021 US Open winner Raducanu would lead Great Britain at the United Cup.
On paper, Great Britain had a very solid team and chances of making a run at the mixed team event.
But then, on Friday, Draper took to X to share that he was withdrawing from the United Cup and the Australian Open due to his ongoing left arm injury.
Now, Great Britain is set to be led by Raducanu, who will be accompanied by WTA world No. 275 Katie Swan and 126th-ranked ATP player Billy Harris. In doubles, the British side will still have a solid pair as their mixed doubles team will consist of world No. 9 Neal Skupski and 26th-ranked Olivia Nicholls.
Since Skupski is solely focused on playing doubles, that means that Harris will replace Draper in singles action.
What Draper said when announcing his United Cup withdrawal?
“Unfortunately, me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year. It’s a really, really tough decision, obviously (with) Australia being a Grand Slam, it’s one of the biggest tournaments in our sport," the 24-year-old announced via a video message on Friday.
“However, I’ve had this injury for a long time, I’m at the very, very end stages of the process, and to step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn’t seem like a smart decision right now 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."
On January 4th, Great Britain will take on Japan in their opening United Cup match.
Raducanu will clash against Naomi Osaka, while Harris will likely take on Shintaro Mochizuki.
