British Tennis Prospect Shows Promise Ahead of Wimbledon
Sir Andy Murray has expressed strong confidence in Jack Draper's fitness and tennis capabilities as the upcoming Wimbledon approaches. Draper, who has faced multiple injury setbacks, has been practicing regularly and demonstrating impressive form on the court.
Draper’s ranking has dropped to No 113 globally due to injuries, after reaching as high as No 4 last year. He has not competed since the Barcelona Open in April. Murray, serving as an adviser and temporary coach to Draper over the past month at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre, believes Draper is recovering well.
“Jack is supposed to be playing in Eastbourne next week,” Murray said at Queen’s Club. “He’s been training and getting ready for that. He’s been on the court most days for the last few weeks.
“His tennis is bloody good. He’s really good. Obviously he’s had lots of issues the last year with various injuries. I feel like he’s starting to come out the other side of that now. The next step is getting on the match court and getting a consistent run of tournaments and weeks under him and building trust again in his body.”
Draper has dealt with knee and elbow injuries, and his most recent challenge involves his serving shoulder. Despite these difficulties, Murray has been impressed by Draper’s performance during their training sessions.
“I get to spend a decent amount of time with Jack,” Murray noted. “I also believe a lot in his tennis. In the sessions I’ve done with him, I’ve been more impressed probably than what I expected. And I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him.
“He’s a quick learner. He’s got very few holes in his game. He’s a more complete player than probably what I expected as well.”
Murray Balances Coaching Role with Family Commitments
Murray confirmed that his collaboration with Draper might continue through the US Open preparation period, but emphasized his priority remains his family life.
“I really like Jack, and I wanted to help him when he asked if I could,” Murray said, referencing his retirement after the 2024 Paris Olympics and his brief coaching stint with Novak Djokovic in early 2025. “But I was quite clear about what I could and couldn’t do.”
“I still want to be able to pick my kids up from school, drop them off at home,” he added. “If that wasn’t something that worked for him, then that was also absolutely fine. But I said I’d still love to help you if you would like that.
“He’s asked for me to help him over this next period. I’ve enjoyed being on court with him. We’ll see how the next few weeks pan out.”
Experience Coaching Djokovic Informs Murray’s Approach
Although Murray has not yet coached Draper from courtside during a match, he expressed comfort with that role based on his experience coaching Djokovic.
“I didn’t find it weird when I was watching matches with Novak,” Murray said. “The buildup to the matches and stuff I found quite hard. Because you need to get your communication with the player right. Making sure you’ve got the right courts booked, practice partners, balls, rackets, strategy. All of those sorts of things. You want that to go smoothly. And then once the player is out on the court, I found it quite easy.”
