Will Draper be Britain’s new hope for Wimbledon…

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“I don’t want to be normal. I want to be right up there.” Jack Draper’s motivations are clear based on what he told the media after his quarter-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz at the Italian Open in May.

And there’s no doubt that the Brit’s meteoric rise has put the tennis world on notice.

The 23-year-old began the 2024 season ranked just outside the Top 60, soaring up the rankings over the next year and a half. At the U.S. Open last September, Draper became the first British man to reach the semifinals in New York since Andy Murray in 2012. The Sutton-native cracked the Top 20 with the result.

Draper’s success in the States continued into 2025. The British No. 1 defeated Taylor Fritz, Alcaraz, and Holger Rune en route to his maiden Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, bringing Draper into the Top 10.

After a solid clay season that featured a runner-up finish in Madrid, the Brit was ranked a career-high fourth following the French Open.

Now, Draper’s expectations are higher than ever heading into his home tournament and there is always some pressure for the British to perform on grass’ biggest stage – the English national soccer team know all about that.

Wimbledon hasn’t had a British singles champion since Murray in 2016. Over those nine years, only Cameron Norrie has reached at least the quarter-final, finishing as a semifinalist three years ago. Draper now has the best chance to follow the British No. 3’s 2022 run at the All-England Club.

However, the 23-year-old from Sutton has had some ups and downs on grass in recent years.

Draper had quite an impressive 2024 on the lawns. The world No. 6 earned his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart in 2024, defeating former-Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. That same year, the Brit took down soon-to-be two-time All-England Club champion Alcaraz in straight sets at the Queen’s Club.

On the Grand Slam stage is where Draper has yet to fully find his game on grass. The Indian Wells champion has never made it out of the second round at Wimbledon and was forced to miss out on the entire 2023 grass season due to a shoulder injury.

But of course, a lot has changed. Draper is set to make his fourth main-draw appearance at the All-England Club and his spot in the rankings will give the home crowd much to get excited about.

Even the British great Murray believes a Grand Slam title is not too out of sight for Draper as the three-time major champion told BBC Sport that, “[Draper’s] right in the mix now and doing extremely well. He’s going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, ten years.”

And how poetic would it be – if Draper’s maiden Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon, joining his idol Murray as the only British gentlemen’s singles winners at the All-England Club in the Open Era.

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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak