Some might say that the grueling clay season is off to a rocky start. The tournament organizers confirmed last week that Novak Djokovic, a two-time champion, will not feature in the 2026 edition. Then came Sebastian Korda’s withdrawal. And the latest to follow suit is Jack Draper.

The Monte Carlo Masters is all set to be played from April 5-12. With 1000 ATP ranking points and a prestigious title on the line, only seven of the top-10 players in the ATP Rankings will be taking part in the tournament. However, British No. 2 Jack Draper has decided to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters as a precaution.

The 24-year-old had been out of action for almost six months after the US Open due to a bruised humerus bone. While he had made his comeback earlier in February with the Dubai Championships, he is now set to miss another major tournament.

With the Brit still not being confident about his condition, he is expected to remain in London for the coming days and build up his fitness. Having already missed some important tournaments this year, he will be looking to make his return to the court as soon as possible.

The injury that Draper had sustained in August not only took a toll on his body but also put a major dent in his ranking. He had clawed his way up to fifth spot before the commencement of the US Open. However, from that point on, his rank kept depleting, and now he is all the way down to No. 25.

After recovering from his injury, Draper failed to impress on his comeback at the Dubai Championships and was knocked out in the second round. He suffered a 5-7, 7-6, 4-6 defeat to Arthur Rinderknech in what was a grueling encounter. But his performance at Indian Wells would prove to be significantly better.

After recording victories over Roberto Bautista Agut and Francisco Cerundolo in the first and second rounds, respectively, Draper would be paired against Novak Djokovic. While many would have predicted the Brit’s journey to end right here, he went on to cause a major upset and won the match 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. This win saw him qualify for his first quarterfinal since the Queen’s Club Championships in June 2025. However, Draper would be handed a 1-6, 5-7 defeat by Daniil Medvedev in the next round.

Despite suffering a one-sided loss, the 24-year-old looked to be back on track with his impressive performance in California. He was expected to make a deep run in the Miami Open, but quite the opposite ended up happening as he was eliminated in the opening round by Reilly Opelka. After the match, Draper admitted that he was still in the “very early stages” of his comeback.

“I guess I’m still at the very early stages of coming back from what was a very difficult injury to deal with. And if someone said that I’m going to be playing Dubai, Indian Wells, here, and go home feeling good, then I would have taken that, because it’s a long season to go,” Draper had said.

“I’ve just got to keep on chipping away with my team, trying to do all the right things, practicing well. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is earning the right to get momentum again,” he added.

It is clear that Draper still needs more time to reach full fitness, and that is why he has decided to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters. While the tournament is unlikely to be lacking in star power, it will be missing several highly ranked players who would have made the draw more interesting.

Other notable withdrawals from the 2026 Monte Carlo Open

Undoubtedly, the biggest star to miss the competition is Novak Djokovic. This will be the first time since 2011 that the Serb will be missing an edition of the Monte Carlo Masters. While he didn’t give any specific reason for his withdrawal, it is suspected that he has still not recovered from his right shoulder injury. He had pulled out of the Miami Open as well due to the same setback. The 38-year-old hasn’t returned to the court since his defeat to Draper at Indian Wells.

On the other hand, multiple American stars have surprisingly decided to skip the Monte Carlo Masters. This includes the likes of Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Jenson Brooksby, Learner Tien, Alex Michelsen, and Brandon Nakashima. While participating in the tournament may not be mandatory, their decision to pull out is still quite puzzling.

Another notable player who will be absent from the tournament is Holger Rune. The Danish star is yet to recover from the ACL injury that he had picked up during the Stockholm Open last year.

Keeping the withdrawals aside, who do you think will come out on top at the Monte Carlo Masters? Let us know your predictions in the comments!