Former World No. 4 Jack Draper heads into the North American hard-court swing in an unfamiliar position: hoping for a Jack Draper US wildcard into the US Open rather than knowing he’s already in.
A Season Derailed by Injury
Draper has played only 13 top-level matches in 2026 after a late start to the season, missing the Australian Open due to an arm injury before suffering a knee injury in the build-up to the French Open. He returned at the Eastbourne Open and reached the semifinals, only to miss Wimbledon due to a recurrence of the bone bruising in his left arm that has plagued him for over a year.
The toll on his ranking has been steep. Draper has dropped to 147th in the world after managing only a handful of tournaments since first stepping away from the tour a year ago with the same arm issue, a stunning fall for a player who sat at No. 4 in the world rankings this time last year.
Missing Direct Entry to the US Open
Draper and Grigor Dimitrov have both failed to make the cut for direct main draw entry at the 2026 US Open after slipping outside the top 100 of the ATP Rankings, with Dimitrov at No. 142 and Draper five places behind him. World No. 101 Francisco Comesana is the lowest-ranked player to receive direct entry, leaving Draper and Dimitrov on the alternate list with more than 40 players ahead of them in the queue.
That leaves two realistic paths back to Flushing Meadows: fight through qualifying, or receive one of the tournament’s discretionary wildcard invitations. Along with Stan Wawrinka and Reilly Opelka, Draper’s situation suggests he may need a wildcard to avoid the qualifying rounds altogether — unless a last-minute cascade of withdrawals opens up a direct spot.
A Wildcard in Washington, and a Statement of Intent
Draper has already needed help to get into this stretch of the season. Ranked outside the top 100, Draper needed a wildcard just to compete at the ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C. But he’s shown signs of returning form.
Draper delivered a convincing practice-match showing ahead of the DC Open, with a deep run at the tournament potentially strong enough to help secure him a Jack Draper US wildcard into the Grand Slam he famously reached the semifinal of back in 2024. Absent that direct nod, the former World No. 4 will need to go through qualifying to get into the tournament.
An Unusual Scheduling Decision
In a further sign of how seriously Draper is treating his comeback, he has been confirmed in the entry list for the ATP Challenger Brownsburg event, a notable step down for a player who was ranked inside the world’s top five just twelve months ago. He is set to drop down a level to the ATP 75 Challenger in Brownsburg, which begins August 10, as he looks to rebuild ranking points and match sharpness.
It’s a pragmatic decision from a player who, despite Wimbledon historically representing his worst Grand Slam, has enjoyed his greatest Slam success at the US Open — most notably that sensational run to the semifinals in 2024, where he fell only to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
What’s Next
With Andy Murray reportedly by his side in Washington, Draper’s form over the next few weeks — first at the DC Open, then potentially in Brownsburg — will go a long way toward determining whether tournament organizers extend a Jack Draper US wildcard, or whether the Briton is left fighting through three rounds of qualifying just to get another shot at Flushing Meadows.