Jack Draper is impressively still comfortably inside the ATP Tour top 30, despite missing six months of action due to an arm injury.
Draper returned impressively in Dubai, despite losing his second match back to Arthur Rinderknech in three sets.
The British number one hit the lofty heights of world number five last summer, after winning Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid Open semi-finals.
As he prepares to defend his Indian Wells crown, Draper has put down a time frame on when he wants to return to the top five.
Jack Draper has his eyes on a ranking jump
Draper is currently down at World No. 29, after his Indian Wells points from 2025 have been taken off him.
The British star has hopes on re-joining the elite of the ATP Tour and he wants to do so by the end of next season.
Speaking to The Athletic, Draper outlined his ambitions after returning at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Where will Jack Draper be ranked by the end of 2026?
“I want to have a great year, but truthfully, after what I’ve been through, I really just want to get back competing, playing constantly.
“There’s no reason why I can’t do really, really well because I feel like I’m a better player than I was 12 months ago.
“My aspirations are to be back being a top-five player in the world by the end of 2027 and to be now competing for Grand Slams. That could happen sooner but it’s easy to say I want everything now. I have to be logical.”
Outside of a semi-final appearance at the 2024 US Open, Draper has rarely shown his best form at the major events.
The star is yet to get past the second round of Wimbledon, while the fourth round is the best he’s achieved at Roland Garros and the Australian Open.
Jack Draper’s run to winning Indian Wells in 2025
Draper’s put together his best-ever string of performances at Indian Wells last year to claim his first Masters title.
The British star’s pace and power was the perfect fit for the sweltering heat of the Californian desert as he toppled several top stars.
Jack Draper is the ATP’s best bet at unsettling Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance – prove us wrong…
Draper beat Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Jenson Brooksby, and Joao Fonseca to win the title.
He dropped just one set all tournament, which was bizarrely a bagel to Alcaraz in an extremely tight semi-final.
Draper bounced back from the bagel to beat the Spaniard 6-4 in the deciding set. His victory against Rune in the final was far more comfortable, with the Brit dropping just four games.
