Draper breaks down in tears during comeback loss to Atmane in Montreal

Jack Draper broke down in tears midway through his return from long-term injury as he lost to France's Terence Atmane 6-3 2-6 6-2 in the first round of the Canadian Open in Montreal, his first appearance since June. The 24-year-old Briton had been granted a main-draw wildcard for the tournament after a persistent arm injury had kept him sidelined.

Draper had won the Indian Wells Open before injury cut his 2025 season short and saw his world ranking fall from fourth to as low as 160th in a 12-month period. Since injuring his shoulder at the US Open in August he has struggled with bone bruising and pulled out of scheduled comebacks at Wimbledon and the Washington Open this summer.

He began the match appearing nervous and without the compression sleeve that had supported him in recent appearances, but was smiling by the third game after reading a tricky Atmane serve well and producing an unlikely winner to level the score to deuce. Those moments drew warm reactions from the crowd as Draper briefly looked to find his range.

Atmane took the first set 6-3 after Draper failed to secure a break, and Draper recovered momentum in the second to win 6-2, with the crowd whooping as he landed a powerful cross-court forehand in the set. The second set provided the clearest glimpse of the level Draper reached during 2025 before his injury problems.

The 2024 US Open semi-finalist faded in the third, surrendering the opening game after leading 40-15 and appearing visibly frustrated in the fourth when he passed up a break point and fired a tired forehand into the net. After being broken for 4-1 he sat down during a change of ends and wiped tears from his eyes before Atmane served out to claim the match.

Atmane will face Russian Karen Khachanov in the second round. Elsewhere in Montreal, British number five Jacob Fearnley beat France's Adrian Mannarino 7-6 6-4 to set up a second-round tie against the Czech Republic's Jakub Mensik.

Draper holds a wildcard entry to the Cincinnati Open, which starts next week, but the incident in Montreal puts his involvement there in doubt, and it also casts uncertainty over his participation at the US Open, which begins on 23 August.