Leading injury prevention and athlete welfare specialist Stephen Smith has discussed Jack Draper’s continuing battle with an arm injury in an interview with Tennis365.

Draper has been dealing with a bruised humerus in his left arm for more than a year, and his 2026 campaign has also included a spell out during the clay-court season because of a right knee problem. Since losing to Marin Cilic in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, the British player has appeared in only 16 matches over the past 13 months. After climbing to a career-best world No 4 in June last year during a strong opening half of the 2025 season, he is now ranked 143rd.

His latest return came at the Canadian Open earlier this month, where he fell in the opening round to Terence Atmane. During the third set, Draper’s serve speed dropped sharply, and he was seen in tears during a changeover while trailing 1-4. He then lost 6-3, 7-5 to Martin Landaluce in the first round of the Cincinnati Open on Thursday. In that match, he was unable to convert six set points in the second set and dropped the final five games after leading 5-2.

Smith, who founded and leads Kitman Labs, said prolonged bone bruising is not unusual.

“I wouldn’t say it’s uncommon,” said Smith.

He added that the serve-speed drop was a clear sign of trouble and warned against overloading the injury.

“What would happen if you keep overloading that is it could end up resulting in a stress fracture, as well. You can’t accelerate that biological process too much. You manage your load around it.”

Smith also stressed the need for careful monitoring and said rest alone may not solve the issue.

“Even rest alone doesn’t solve these things. Okay, the symptoms might resolve, but then you go straight back out there and you go from 0 to 100 miles an hour in terms of the demands that are placed on you — and that’s what’s causing some of this,” Smith said.

He also highlighted the mental strain of repeated injury setbacks.

“Massively. It’s so hard.”

Ben Shelton says he “loves” the pursuit of catching Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after successfully defending his Canadian Open crown.

The 23-year-old backed up last year’s breakthrough Masters 1000 triumph in Toronto with another commanding run, closing out Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6(4) in Thursday’s final in Montreal.

That result made Shelton the fourth man this century to defend the Canada title, joining Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. It also came without the loss of a set, a striking turnaround after difficult exits at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier in the season.

The left-hander has climbed back to sixth in the ATP Tour rankings and has moved ahead of compatriot Taylor Fritz to become the American No 1.

Although Shelton lifted the trophy without having to go through Sinner, Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic, he made clear that he views them as the standard he wants to meet.

When asked how much confidence does this title win give him to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz, he replied, “Yeah. I think it’s a constant process for me. I love having people out in front of me that I can chase.

“It’s been that way my whole career. I’ve never just been the best. I’ve always been chasing the best. Been a little bit behind, you could say, in my progression, and I think that’s pushed me in every aspect of my tennis game.

“And, you know, I’ll continue to work, to chase the guys that are in front of me. Obviously try to stay ahead of these young guys that are coming out on tour.

“I played a lot of young guys this week. The future of the sport, really, really high-quality players, and they’re not stopping. There’s so many more that are coming up.

“So I think that tennis is a game that you gotta keep improving or you get passed up, you get left in the dust. And so my job with the gifts that I have is to try to maximize, do as much as I can in the sport, become the best version of myself, and that’s where my focus lies.”

Shelton heads into Cincinnati as one of the leading names in the draw, with Sinner and Alcaraz both sidelined by knee and wrist injuries, respectively. He said the Montreal title was an important step, and felt his returning stood out as much as his serve.

“For me this week was a massive stepping stone, I would say even more than what I did in Toronto last year because the way that I did it.

“I thought I was much more clinical, more focused. I was an elite returner at times. But the way that I was able to break serve, the fashion in which I did it, my ability to play defence and offense, I’m excited with the way that I’m progressing.

“Throughout this season on the hardcourts I felt that each tournament I’ve gotten better and better. And obviously we’re still early in this US Open swing and have a lot of hard court tennis to play through the rest of the year. So I’m just really looking forward to see what kind of damage I can do moving forward.”

Jack Draper’s difficult run with injury concerns continued in Cincinnati, where he was beaten in the opening round by Spain’s Martin Landaluce and left with fresh uncertainty over what comes next for the former British No 1.

Draper has spent much of the past year dealing with a bone bruising problem that he has not been able to fully overcome. The issue resurfaced in painful fashion last week, when he broke down in tears after his first-round defeat in Montreal, an emotional scene that fuelled speculation that his 2026 season might already be in jeopardy.

Even so, Draper turned up in Cincinnati and tried again to manage the problem. For a while, there were signs that he might still be able to compete. After a cautious opening, he found a better rhythm and moved into a commanding position in the second set, eventually coming within a single point of forcing a deciding set.

But the result told only part of the story. Draper’s arm issue remained a clear obstacle throughout a 6-3, 7-5 defeat, and he cut a frustrated, downcast figure well before the match was over. The sense of concern around his condition only grew as the match wore on.

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski offered a stark assessment on his podcast, questioning whether there is a realistic solution to the problem. “This is really, really concerning and serious,” said Rusedski.

He went on to say: “No matter how great a player you are in the men’s game, if you cannot get that serve in play to get the first strike on your serve, it’s very difficult. Because you look at the ground strokes, you look at the returns, you look at the movement, you look at his hands, it’s all there. Everything’s there. But you put one hand behind the back if you’re not able to serve properly. And for me that’s the problem.

“It looks like he’s going to have to have a long period away of rest. I’m sure he’s tried the injections to get the inflammation down on multiple occasions, maybe on too many occasions, who knows? The only one who knows is him and his team around him. So for me, it looks like the solution is possibly another long break away, finding a way to heal.

“He’s tried the racket, he’s tried the strings, he’s tried so many things. I mean, I feel for him. I don’t know what to say to the guy.

“I just feel really, really bad, because the potential, the talent is there. Who knows what the reason is behind it, but he’s trying to find a solution. You know, from what I’m seeing over the past year, I don’t know how he gets there. And to me, that is very worrying.”

Draper is scheduled to play mixed doubles at the US Open with Jessica Pegula, in an event set for the week before the singles begins later this month, but his participation is now in major doubt.