No. 5 seed Jack Draper withdrew from the US Open men’s singles draw on Wednesday because of a left arm injury.
The Briton, who reached the semifinals at Flushing Meadows a year ago, did not play an event between Wimbledon and arriving in New York, having first felt pain in his arm during the clay-court season. He was diagnosed with a bruised humerus, the bone that runs from the shoulder to elbow.
“I’m sorry to say I’ll be withdrawing from the US Open,” Draper said in a statement. “I tried my very best to be here and give myself every chance to play but the discomfort in my arm has become too much and I have to do what is right and look after myself.”
This marks the first time a men’s top-five seed has withdrawn during the US Open in the Open era (since 1968).
With Draper’s withdrawal, Zizou Bergs of Belgium advances to the third round via walkover.
Following his first-round win Monday against qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez, Draper indicated he was back competing ahead of schedule, having tested himself last week in the mixed doubles tournament, which he played with American Jessica Pegula.
“With the injury I had in my arm, the return to competition is probably about eight weeks; I’m here seven weeks, so I’m early,” Draper told reporters Tuesday. “There’s days where you’re really pumped because you think you’re on a good path, and then there’s days where you have setbacks and you think, oh, I might not be able to do it.
“There’s been a lot of both of those days, but at the same time, I think as I’ve gotten closer to the tournament, me and my team, we’ve had more scans, we’re confident that I’m not doing any more damage to my arm, and I’m in a place where I can go out and compete. It’s not going to set me back, so that’s a real positive.”
Draper was situated in the top half of the draw and could have faced No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.
As a result of his withdrawal, Draper’s ranking will drop to at least No. 7.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
