Jack Draper appeared to be battling himself physically during Friday’ US Open semifinal at Flushing Meadows.
Draper threw up on the court twice during the second set of his semifinal match against top-seeded Jannik Sinner on Friday. The second instance of vomiting was caught on camera as Draper was preparing to return serve, prompting speculation about his health.
Jack Draper has thrown up a couple times during this match pic.twitter.com/5ZaZdB1BHF
— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) September 6, 2024
Draper did not make much of the incident. Neither did Sinner, as both players agreed to simply play on without stopping to clean things up.
ack Draper has puked on the court twice now in 10-15 minutes.
Chair ump tried to stop the match to clean up the second time.
Both players said, let's just play on. Football guys.— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) September 6, 2024
Many wondered if Draper was dealing with some sort of illness during the match. In addition to throwing up, he was sweating so profusely during the match that at one point he was made to change his drenched shoes.
Play stopped as Jack Draper is changing his shoes because they are wet and making the court unplayable…. pic.twitter.com/VoSD1McuU1
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) September 6, 2024
Draper was tended to by a trainer during the ensuing changeover. At one point, he had ice draped around his neck and three icepacks on his face, but there was never any suggestion he would retire.
This sort of thing is not necessarily unusual for athletes, but it is not common in tennis. Taken in context with everything else, it’s understandable why there was so much speculation about whether Draper was even healthy.
Draper would up losing a marathon 89-minute second set in a tiebreak.
