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The British number one's training regimen for 2026 have begun much earlier than expected

A serving arm issue has limited him to just a single competitive outing since Wimbledon - and forced him to end his season early after pain proved too much at the US Open in late summer

Recovery Progress

But the young British world number eight is resuming practice, and officials of a three-day event in London in December are optimistic he will be ready to compete

Draper is scheduled to make his return at the showcase event in London, having been offered a special invitation by Patrick Mouratoglou

"He expressed certainty - if not he would decline to be invited," Mouratoglou stated

"I'm sure he's going to play. The sole approach you can do is give it time to recover. It will require a long time before competing again"

Recovery Process

"You can't play on a bone bruise, because the next stage is a hairline fracture and you cannot risk the possibility to have a stress fracture"

"When you have a bone injury on the serving arm, you can do a lot of fitness, so you stay in shape. It's annoying because you need to stop entirely and be patient until fully healed again"

Present Training

Draper was showcasing upcoming season's line for one of his corporate partners recently and has been training regularly at the premier training facility in London

The work is mainly physical at the moment, and when off-season preparation starts in earnest in the coming weeks, the first tennis exercises are likely to be low in intensity

Injury Timeline

The British number one first felt discomfort in his primary serving limb during the clay court season in the spring, and following a scan after Wimbledon, did not hit any serves for a month

But the period of rest wasn't enough. He successfully completed his first-round match at the US Open, but withdrew before the second, and the chance to make his first appearance at the year-end championships was lost

"He's top 10 and he competed in half of the year. This demonstrates how good he is..." the coach continued

"His only problem for the time being is the injuries: he has been affected by multiple physical setbacks already in the past"

Future Prospects

"I consistently believed he was going to be a top player, but for every player that is supposed to become a top player, there are things to address"

"For him, it's to find a method to be injury free as much as possible because this factor made him lose a significant period or else he would be higher among competitors, I believe"

Tournament Information

The UTS London Grand Final will be staged at the Copper Box from early December

Draper won the competition in 2023 and earned what was then the largest prize money of his career

Three-time Grand Slam finalist the Norwegian star will additionally be in the eight-man field for contests played over short timed periods

• Only 15 seconds are permitted between rallies
• There is no second serve
• Special advantages can be activated to increase the points of the following rally by multiple times