Former world number four Jack Draper has decided to take a break from tennis for the rest of the season due to ongoing issues with bone bruising in his serving arm. The 24-year-old, who has struggled with consistency in recent months, has played in only nine events since last year's Wimbledon and missed the US Open. He lost in the first round of the Montreal and Cincinnati tournaments last month, and during his defeat to French player Terence Atmane in Canada, he appeared visibly emotional. Draper has stated that he is taking time to reset and heal, with the goal of returning to the ATP Tour at the start of next year, fully prepared for competition. Draper will not be able to retain his current protected ranking if he returns in January, as only players out for more than six months are eligible to keep their ranking. He is currently ranked 155th in the world and would need to rely on wildcards or qualify for Grand Slam and ATP Tour events upon his return. Earlier this year, Draper reached a career-high ranking of four in the world after winning his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and finishing as runner-up in Madrid. He mentioned that last summer, everything seemed to be coming together in terms of his performance and development, but a complex injury has made things more difficult. Draper has been taking a mental break from the sport and has been on holiday with friends to help with his recovery. Over the next few weeks, he plans to gradually return to training, with his team working to understand the causes of the injury and how to prevent future issues. Draper is also experimenting with new equipment, such as natural gut strings instead of polyester, and using a lighter racquet, while making adjustments to his serve. His team is also examining whether his diet might be contributing to the problem. Andy Murray remains part of his coaching team but will only be available for a limited number of weeks. Once Draper returns to the tour, he will need to find a permanent coach. His comeback schedule will be carefully planned, considering the possibility that his bone bruising may not be fully healed by January and concerns about the physical demands of modern tennis.