Jack Draper: No. 1 British player returns with victory to the ATP Tour

British number one Jack Draper marked his return to action after injury on the ATP Tour with a straight sets win over Frenchman Quentin Hales in Dubai.

In the men’s tour for the first time since the US Open last August, Draper won 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 in his first appearance at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The 24-year-old, who dropped to 15th in the world after reaching a career-high ranking of fourth in June, will play either Hungarian Fabian Marozsan or Frenchman Arthur Renderkneich in the next match.

Draper played his first official match in 164 days when he played in the Davis Cup qualifiers earlier in February, beating Norwegian Viktor Durasovic in straight sets.

But he has been absent from singles tournaments since he withdrew from the US Open before his second-round match due to an injury to his left arm six months ago.

Draper won the Masters 1000m title in Indian Wells and reached the fourth round at the Australian and French Opens in a promising start to the 2025 season.

But he began to suffer from a bruise in the bone in his arm while playing on clay courts last April, and the problem gradually worsened.