The Australian Open is already down one of the world's best players, with world number 10 Jack Draper ruled out of the opening Grand Slam of 2026.
The British top seed has been recovering from an arm injury for the latter half of 2025, and confirmed to social media on Saturday that it would keep him out of the tournament.
"Unfortunately me and my team have decided not to head out to Australia this year," he said.
"It's a really, really tough decision, and obviously with Australia being a Grand Slam it's one of the biggest tournaments in our sport.
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"However I've had this injury for a long time. I'm at the very, very end stages of the [recovery] process. And to step back on court into best-of-five-set tennis so soon just doesn't seem like the smart decision right now for me and my tennis.
"I've obviously been through a fair amount of setbacks so far, but I find this one has been the most difficult, the most challenging, the most complex one that I've had."
— jack draper (@jackdraper0) December 26, 2025
Draper had climbed to as high as number four in the world after a breakout start to 2025, reaching the round of 16 at both the Australian and French Opens, while also winning the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March.
However, he only completed one match after Wimbledon, after being forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open in the middle of the tournament.