Jack Draper Mundur dari Wimbledon 2026 Akibat Cedera Lengan

Petenis tunggal putra Inggris Raya Jack Draper memutuskan mundur dari turnamen Grand Slam Wimbledon 2026 di London pada Senin, 29 Juni 2026, akibat mengalami cedera lengan kronis yang kembali kambuh.

Keputusan tersebut diumumkan hanya 24 jam sebelum jadwal pertandingan babak pertamanya melawan unggulan keenam asal Amerika Serikat, Taylor Fritz, yang seharusnya berlangsung di Lapangan Utama pada hari Selasa.

Pengunduran diri Draper menjadi pukulan besar kedua bagi publik tuan rumah setelah sehari sebelumnya petenis putri Emma Raducanu juga menyatakan mundur akibat mengalami cedera patah tulang stres pada kaki kanannya.

Padahal sebelum pengumuman ini, Draper baru saja mencapai babak semifinal di turnamen pemanasan Eastbourne pekan lalu dan sempat melakukan sesi wawancara dengan media tanpa menunjukkan tanda-tanda masalah kebugaran.

Dilansir dari BBC, Draper mengungkapkan kekecewaan mendalamnya setelah masalah pada lengan yang sempat membuatnya absen selama sebagian besar setahun terakhir kembali memaksanya melewatkan turnamen besar.

"There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months, but this one is definitely the absolute worst," kata Jack Draper, Petenis Inggris Raya.

Sebelum keputusan mundur diambil, Draper sempat merefleksikan situasi fisiknya yang rumit kepada media puntodebreak.com terkait penanganan cedera pasca-Wimbledon tahun lalu.

"The nature of my injuries, especially the one I had after Wimbledon last year, is extremely complicated. These are the kind of injuries where you're not sure when you can push and when you shouldn't. I play a very aggressive sport, where sometimes you have to go out on the court dealing with some discomfort.

Sometimes it's too much, sometimes it's not. I rely on the people around me, and I wouldn't be competing if there was a possibility that everything would go much worse, obviously," kata Jack Draper, Petenis Inggris Raya.

Draper juga menceritakan beban mental yang harus dihadapinya ketika harus kembali memulai proses pemulihan dari awal setelah sempat menembus peringkat empat dunia.

"It's very difficult. When I was younger, I had several setbacks, but I was able to bounce back and had a couple of years with hardly any. I made huge progress.

Last year I came here as the #4 in the world, I felt amazing, looking forward to what was to come. I felt that I was building a lot of confidence in my tennis, my body, and my mind. Then you go through something that makes you hit the brakes, and it happens when you least expect it.

Accepting that is very complicated, especially when you have already overcome everything you have in the past. I didn't know I was going to have the year that I finally had with the injuries, unable to play much, seeing your ranking drop and being back to square one. I suppose now you have to look at it from the present, look at the positive side of everything: I have to rebuild myself and practically start over.

I feel like my tennis hasn't gone anywhere: I haven't lacked dedication a single day during my recovery, and now I'm in a good place. I still believe, even after everything, that I am competing at a very high level. I am very eager to return to the top," kata Jack Draper, Petenis Inggris Raya.

Terkait kondisi fisiknya sebelum turnamen dimulai, petenis berusia 24 tahun ini sebenarnya merasa kekuatannya sudah berada di level yang baik untuk menantang pemain top dunia.

"I would say that my power, when competing, is in a very good place. I'm moving great. Still far from perfect, but I'm getting closer.

It has been a very long process that has demanded a lot from me mentally, always thinking about coming back, time and again. At the same time, I feel that I can compete at a high level and challenge the best. I remember there was a stage, earlier this year, where I committed to many things.

I started using natural gut strings, made changes in different areas of my game, barely trained… now I'm in a position where I have that load and volume in my body and can go out there and focus solely on competing," kata Jack Draper, Petenis Inggris Raya.

Selain itu, Draper memberikan pandangan kritis mengenai banyaknya pemain muda di sirkuit ATP saat ini yang kerap bertumbangan akibat didera cedera pada bagian tubuh yang serupa.

"I think my arm injury is something I couldn't anticipate. It was bad luck. With muscles, it's more about workload, just like with bones.

We are in a sport where we compete all the time, train all the time, to improve our tennis. Last year I did great at the Masters 1000, trying to develop my tennis to get closer to players like Alcaraz and Sinner, who play at an incredibly high level. Simply, my body broke down.

It is very concerning for the state of men's tennis, especially right now. The number of injuries, especially in young players like Musetti, Fils, who I know has had many issues, Alcaraz's wrist… when I looked at the tournament draws in the weeks when I couldn't compete, all injuries were to the shoulder, arm, wrist. If that is due to the quality of the balls…

I don't think more matches are played now than before, for example. I think the way athletes improve and hit the ball with more force, also moving better, leaves," kata Jack Draper, Petenis Inggris Raya.

Di sisi lain, hari pertama turnamen di All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club juga diramaikan oleh kehadiran sejumlah figur publik di area VIP dan tribun penonton, termasuk mantan petenis dunia Serena Williams yang dijadwalkan kembali ke lapangan.