Jack Draper has not played competitively since the Cincinnati Open in August and he has already confirmed that he will end his 2026 season early.

The British returned to action after eight months out in February of this year, but his injury issues were certainly not behind him.

Draper was riddled with arm and knee issues this season, which meant he only played 15 matches across the year.

There were still highs, including a quarterfinal appearance at Indian Wells and reaching the Eastbourne Open semifinals, but most of Draper’s season was heartachingly sad.

There is currently no sign of when, or if, Draper will return to competitive action, but he has been spotted doing something very strange during his off-season.

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Draper has been pictured training in Rio de Janeiro in recent days, which is certainly a good sign that the star is at least back on a tennis court.

However, he has been seen playing on clay courts, which seems a very strange move at this point in the season.

While warm weather preparation would be a good thing, surely Draper should be getting down to work on outdoor hardcourts ahead of the Australian swing?

The ATP Tour does not hit clay courts until February and March at the earliest, when the ‘Golden Swing’ sees tournaments in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

Draper has never played these tournaments, instead opting for the far more lucrative Middle Eastern swing on hardcourts, including events in Qatar and Dubai.

While it is good to see Draper back on a tennis court, it does seem strange that the star is preparing on a surface that he will likely not play on until April next year at the earliest.

Additionally, Draper only played one clay court match during the 2026 season, at the Barcelona Open against Tomas Machac, which was curtailed by a knee injury.

One thing Draper does have going for him at present, however, is the continued support of Andy Murray, who coached him on the grass court swing.

The Scot says there are plans in place for the pair to work together in 2027, although Murray himself is unsure where and when that will be.

“Yeah, there’s still plans to help him [Draper],” Murray said in September. “I don’t know where that is. I’m not entirely sure because his ranking will have dropped.

“I don’t know if he would get into Australia and potentially relying on wild cards and things like that, so we’ll see. Hopefully he’ll be back on the court training again soon and getting ready for the new season – it has been an interesting year.”

Perhaps that will be in South America on the clay, with what Draper has been doing in Brazil in recent days. The British star currently sits at world No 157 in the rankings.