Arthur Rinderknech edged out Jack Draper 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a closely contested match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 25, 2026. The defeat ends Draper's first ATP Tour appearance since a seven-month injury layoff. Despite the loss, Draper showed resilience in a 2-hour-41-minute encounter.
Jack Draper, the fourth seed and ranked world No. 14, returned to ATP Tour action after recovering from bone bruising in his left arm, which sidelined him since last summer's US Open. He won his opening match on Monday but fell to Arthur Rinderknech in the round of 16. The match, lasting 2 hours and 41 minutes, saw Draper win 104 points to Rinderknech's 103, yet the Frenchman secured victory with two decisive breaks of serve—one at 6-5 in the first set and another at 1-1 in the third.
Draper struggled to break Rinderknech's serve, facing only two break points and converting none, while Rinderknech landed 71 percent of his first serves and won 84 percent of those points. In the second set, Draper saved three break points before forcing a tiebreak, which he won 7-4. A quirky moment occurred when Draper realized midway through the first set that his shirt was on backward; he corrected it but still dropped the set.
Draper displayed power, including a 161 km/h forehand, marking his second tour-level win of 2026 (2-1 record, including a Davis Cup victory). Rinderknech advances to face fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. For Draper, attention turns to defending 1,000 points at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells next week, followed by the Miami Open.
