Jack Draper will miss Wimbledon with the shoulder injury he suffered at the French Open last week.
It is a huge blow to the 21-year-old, whose progress has been disrupted by a series of injuries.
The latest came in practice ahead of his first-round clash at Roland Garros last Monday against Tomas Etcheverry, with Draper forced to serve underarm before calling it a day after only one game of the second set.
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While hugely disappointed that his body had again let him down, Draper was optimistic the problem with his left shoulder would not disrupt his grass-court campaign too much.
However, having had a scan and seen a specialist, Draper has decided to miss the whole of the British summer season.
Draper wrote on Instagram: “It’s clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be. My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass court season this year.
“I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take. The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering.”
He is optimistic he will not need surgery and is hoping to return to the match court in mid to late July.
When he has been fit, Draper has shown he has the potential to be among the best in the world but that has not been nearly as often as he would have liked.
Last season a promising run to the third round of the US Open was ended by a leg injury and, after illness disrupted his pre-season, Draper has already missed large chunks of this year with hip and abdominal problems.
In Paris last week the Londoner said he felt “mentally destroyed”, adding: “I hate being the guy who is injured a lot.”
Draper made his Wimbledon debut in 2021, losing to Novak Djokovic, while last year he pushed Alex De Minaur to four sets in the second round.
Sabalenka not focused on world rankings after Wuhan success
Aryna Sabalenka is not thinking about claiming the world number one ranking after her Wuhan Open triumph on Sunday.
Sabalenka downed home favourite and reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwhen, prevailing 6-3 5-7 6-3 to claim her fifth title on Chinese soil.
The Belarusian became the player with the most main draw wins at the Wuhan Open since the tournament's inception in 2014, with this victory her 17th in as many matches at the competition.
Sabalenka is also only the second player, after Serena Williams at Miami (2013 to 2015) to win a WTA 1000 tournament in three consecutive editions, but faces a stern test in toppling Iga Swiatek at the summit of the WTA rankings ahead of the end of the season.
"Really tight ranking right now," Sabalenka said. "Really nice to see. I always say, of course, it's one of my goals, but I prefer to focus on myself and just keep working hard.
"We'll see after the [WTA Finals] if I was good enough this season to become world number one."
Sabalenka (28) and Swiatek (30) are now the pair with the most WTA 1000 wins combined (58) in a single season, surpassing Williams and Maria Sharapova in 2013 (57).
But Sabalenka did not have it all her own way in Sunday's showdown with Zheng, who fought back in the second set to force a decider.
Sabalenka eventually halted Zheng's hopes of becoming just the second Chinese player to claim a WTA 1000 title after Li Na in 2012, but it was a tough test for the 26-year-old.
"First of all, I would say the conditions are probably a little bit better for her here," Sabalenka said.
"It's much slower and the ball's getting heavier. She has more things to do on the court when it's slower.
"Honestly, I felt like I just lost a little bit of focus and I let her come back in the match. I got a little bit frustrated there.
"It became a three-set match. Balls are getting heavier, in the third set, [it was] a bit emotional."
Sabalenka completes Wuhan Open hat-trick
Aryna Sabalenka overcame home favourite Zheng Qinwen 6-3 5-7 6-3 to claim a third straight crown at the Wuhan Open.
US Open champion Sabalenka has an immaculate record at the WTA 1000 event, where she extended her dominance on Sunday.
The showdown was a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, in which Sabalenka also came out on top.
She is now unbeaten in four matches against Zheng, this year's Olympic champion.
Having required just 38 minutes to take the first set, Sabalenka was pegged back in the second, eventually succumbing after saving four break points.
Yet the Belarusian regained the impetus in the decider, swiftly taking a double-break lead and hardly looking back from there.
Data Debrief: Queen of Wuhan does the three-peat
What a year it has been for Sabalenka, and after previously winning in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019, the world number two completed a hat-trick of trophies in style. She has played 17 times at the tournament and is yet to lose a match.
Sabalenka, who has won four trophies this year, is the second player, after Serena Williams at Miami (2013 to 2015), to win a WTA 1000 event in three consecutive editions of the tournament.
China is something of a home away from home for the 26-year-old, too. She is now the player to have won the most WTA-level titles on Chinese soil in the Open Era (five).
Meanwhile, Sabalenka and world number one Iga Swiatek are the pair with the most combined wins at WTA 1000 events (58) in a single season, surpassing Williams and Maria Sharapova in 2013 (57).
Sinner hopes to see 'legend' Djokovic on the big stages for years to come
Jannik Sinner hopes to see Novak Djokovic fit and firing at the biggest tournaments for years to come.
Djokovic proved no match for Sinner as the world number one prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters.
Sinner's dominant display denied Djokovic what would have been his 100th ATP Tour-level title, albeit that trophy is bound to come sooner rather than later for the 37-year-old.
With Rafael Nadal having confirmed his retirement earlier this week, Djokovic is the final member of "the big four" remaining, following Andy Murray's retirement earlier this year.
And 23-year-old Sinner, who is now even at 4-4 in his head-to-head record with Djokovic, hopes to see the Serbian remain at the top of the game.
"It's so nice to see you still playing incredible tennis, you keep showing it year after year," Sinner told Djokovic during the trophy presentation.
"You are doing an incredible job, I wish you all the best, not only for this season but for staying healthy next season and hopefully seeing you as long as possible here on big stages."
Speaking to Sky Sports, Sinner said: "It was a very tough match, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges.
"He was serving great the first set, I couldn't find a way to break him, and then I played a very good tie-breaker which gave me confidence for the second set.
"Very happy with my performance through this whole tournament – a very special moment.
"[Djokovic [doesn't] have any weaknesses. You have to use the very small number of chances he gives you but there are not many through a whole match.
"You try to believe in every moment. He's a legend of our sport, he's very tough to play against so I'm very happy."
Sinner is the first player to claim three consecutive wins head-to-head against Djokovic since Nadal in 2013.
The Italian is only the fifth player aged 23 or under in the Open Era to win 6+ hard-court ATP titles in a calendar year after Jimmy Connors (1973), Ivan Lendl (1981), Pete Sampras (1994) and Roger Federer (2004).
Federer and Carlos Alcaraz were present in the stands during Sunday's showdown, and Djokovic quipped that only added to the pressure.
"It's really nice to see Roger, I'm not used to seeing you in the stands, I wish you were on the court playing with us," he said.
"It's probably the first time I played in front of you, so I had an added pressure, but thank you for being here. And Carlos as well."
Speaking to Sinner, Djokovic said: "Congratulations to Jannik, you were just too good today and you're having an incredible year – you deserve this.
"Congratulations to his team, as well, for a great week – well done, I'm really glad you guys are doing well, you deserve this."
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