Jack Draper has delayed the start of his clay-court season by pulling out of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The British star had been hoping to kick-start his 2026 clay-court season in Monte Carlo - live on Sky Sports Tennis between 5-12 April - but his quest for a maiden clay court title will have to wait.

It remains to be seen whether Draper will play at his next scheduled event after an arm injury that derailed his 2025 season - the Barcelona Open, which runs from April 13-19.

The 24-year-old returned to action during Great Britain's Davis Cup victory against Norway in February before playing two matches in Doha.

He made a superb run to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells earlier this month as defending champion, defeating former world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, before losing his opening match in Miami to Reilly Opelka.

Draper will now skip the first tournament of the clay-court swing in the Principality.

He left his mark on the dirt last year, becoming the first British player to reach a Masters 1000 final on clay since Andy Murray in 2016, during his run to the final of the Madrid Open - narrowly losing out in three sets to Casper Ruud.

The Brit backed that up by making the quarter-finals in Rome, and enjoyed a fourth round run at the French Open - his best performance to date.

British No 1 Cameron Norrie will head into this year's clay swing in the hope of continuing his fine form which has seen him edge closer to the world's top 20 following a quarter-final run at Indian Wells.

He reached the semi-finals appearance at the Geneva Open and the fourth round of the French Open in 2025 where he fell short to Novak Djokovic on both occasions.

Novak Djokovic pulled out of the clay-court event ​after also withdrawing ‌from the ongoing Miami Open with ​a right shoulder injury.

The 38-year-old ​Serb captured ‌the Monte-Carlo Masters titles in 2013 and 2015.

Djokovic is next scheduled to compete at another clay ATP Masters 1000 event, the Mutua Madrid Open. The main-draw action in the Spanish capital takes place from April 22 to May 3.

World No 7 Taylor Fritz has also withdrawn from the tournament ​due to injury as well as fellow American Ben Shelton.

The influx of late withdrawals have opened the door for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Daniel Altmaier into the main draw directly.

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