Jack Draper will be hoping to defend the biggest title of his career to date at the 2026 Indian Wells Masters.
The British star struggled with injury throughout 2025, hampered by a serious left arm injury.
Draper returned to the court earlier this month, competing in the Davis Cup and the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Who is to blame for Jack Draper’s injury issues?
Following his loss to Arthur Rinderknech in Dubai, Draper has offered tennis fans insight into his long injury recovery in a video posted on YouTube.
And Draper’s comments prove that he has the mettle to win a Grand Slam title.
Jack Draper will win a Grand Slam title
In a YouTube video documenting his return from injury, Draper offered an embattled response to any doubts he may have felt after suffering the debilitating injury last year.
“I mean. it’s really, really difficult obviously to have the injury when I had it,” said Draper, who suffered the injury shortly after winning his biggest title to date in Indian Wells.
“I was on a really good run. And then at the same time it’s like, I always try and look for the reasons why: the positives.
“And I always think it’s how you respond to these things. I try to look at the positives. What can I do?
“What, do I just sit there and f****** cry about it? Or do I try and work on my game? Work on my game, work on coming forwards, work on different areas of my body.
“Also, I ask myself why? Why has this happened? What can I change?”
These comments demonstrate perfectly why Draper is a threat for Grand Slam titles in the future, and why he is the most likely challenger to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance.
The British star refused to buckle under the weight of expectation: maintaining his composure throughout the injury recovery process while keeping his cards close to his chest.
Where will Jack Draper be ranked by the end of 2026?
His attitude towards recovery is an admirable trait; one that will serve him well during this season and into the future.
Grand Slam champions need a certain amount of mettle to emerge victorious in the biggest matches – an ability to fight untill the end and maintain an inner peace amongst all the noise that comes with being a professional tennis player.
Draper has refused to wilt, instead rising to meet his injury issues and taking them in his stride.
Simply put, he has the mindset of a Grand Slam champion.
Jack Draper reveals he has a ‘bad scan’ before the 2025 US Open
After missing most of the 2025 North American swing, Jack Draper returned to competitive play at the US Open having seemingly recovered from his injury.
However, the injury issue returned and Draper was forced to withdraw ahead of his second-round match against Zizou Bergs.
Speaking about his US Open campaign during the same YouTube video, Draper revealed that he had a ‘bad scan’ before taking to the court in New York.
He said: “I want to be able to go the distance and compete for the big tournaments, and I can’t do that if I’m going… like in the US Open last year, I thought my arm was okay.
“Actually, I got a bad scan on it but you know, I was probably going at 60 per cent and that was because of the pain I was feeling in my arm.
“So I’m not doing that again. I’m not putting myself out there, getting in front of people, get in front of the other players and acting like things are okay and trying to muscle through when it’s just like, you’re not going anywhere.”
