Draper hones the ‘weapons’ to beat Sinner and Alcaraz

An arm injury ended Jack Draper's season early, but he reveals he's raring to resume his challenge to the star duo

- JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

“Although it’s hurt me a lot, the fact that I’ve had to miss out a long period of time, it's also given me some perspective and given me an added motivation and fuel in my belly to push on to where I ultimately want to get to,” says British No 1 Jack Draper.

There have been too few sightings of Draper of late - with injury ending his season prematurely - but armed with a new coach, Jamie Delgado, and new clothing partner Vuori, the 23-year-old is determined to “really go after” the 2026 season following a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

Draper had been building momentum after winning the biggest title of his career at Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid Open final, arriving at Wimbledon ranked No 4 in the world. But after his surprise second-round defeat to the veteran Marin Cilic, a scan revealed Draper had been suffering from painful bone bruising in his left arm. It was touch and go whether Draper would return in time for the US Open; he was given a prognosis of “eight to nine weeks” before the bone bruising healed, and the final grand slam of the year was less than two months away.