Jack Draper enjoyed a breakthrough in 2025 despite having to end his season early due to injury.
Tim Henman has tipped Draper for a successful 2026 and he’s set to return to the sport at the UTS Grand Final in December, as well as the United Cup in January.
Draper reached a career-high of world number four in 2025 after reaching the Madrid Open final and winning Indian Wells.
The star transformed into one of the best players in the world between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and Laura Robson has unveiled exactly what Draper did in his off-season.
Laura Robson explains Jack Draper’s biggest improvement
Robson kept a close eye on Draper throughout 2024 and the start of 2025 and she noticed two things he changed to help him compete with the ATP elite.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Robson said: “I think he’s playing even more aggressively and using his strengths more. It was an area he was working on during the off-season, knowing when to try and come forward.
His new persona helped him challenge for trophies on all three different surfaces, as he got to the latter stages of the likes of Indian Wells, Madrid, and Queen’s in the first half of 2026.
Robson added: “It’s not something that we’ve seen from him over the years and to do it on multiple surfaces, making the final of Madrid, playing the same sort of brand of tennis as we saw in Indian Wells and to see him find that belief, that inner confidence that you need to challenge the best in the world – he’s been building to it.”
It’s a testament to how brilliant Draper was for the first half of 2026 that he was able to keep his ranking inside the top 10 without playing between the US Open and the end of the season.
The British star has played two tournaments since Wimbledon, and he still would have qualified for the ATP Finals as an alternate.
Jack Draper explains what the next step for him looks like
Draper looked set to assert himself as one of the best players in the world in 2025, but his injury will no doubt set him back a little bit.
Henman believes it will take Draper a while to reach the top, and the British star has remained hesitant about his goals for 2026.
Speaking to Tennis Majors, the British star said: “I’d like to go beyond semifinals, be top four in Grand Slams, break into the top ten, and win more 250 and 500 tournaments. I want more consistency in big events and deeper runs.”
Draper has won three career titles on the ATP Tour, having lifted the Stuttgart Open, the Vienna Open, and Indian Wells.
