The British southpaw has risen to a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world.
When it comes to stories of overcoming adversity, it doesn’t get much better than the fairytale of Jack Draper. As he fell to his knees after beating Holger Rune in the 2025 Indian Wells final, it was a moment to cherish for the tennis world. In the process, the 23-year-old became the first British man to enter the Top-10 of the ATP Rankings after stalwart Andy Murray. Additionally, Draper is also just the fifth British male player to capture a Masters 1000 crown – after Tim Henman, Andy Murray, Greg Rudedski and Cameron Norrie.
It was a culmination of what turned out to be a fortnight that the Briton would’ve never dreamt of. World class names such as Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Joao Fonseca, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune – none of them stood a chance against Draper. Although there were some stern challenges along the way, ‘Jack the Ripper’ completed a supremely convincing title charge by brushing aside Danish sensation Rune 6-2 6-2 in the final.
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Ever since his junior days, Jack Draper was a name that a lot of pundits were singing praises of. Despite having won trophies at Stuttgart and Vienna previously, it is the Indian Wells championship that made Draper feel vindicated in all probability. “I said at the end of last year I wanted to be competing with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and all the players who are competing for big titles,” the powerhouse southpaw laid out.
“It’s one thing saying it but another thing doing it. To back up six matches here at the highest level against tough opponents is something I’ve been working hard to be able to achieve.” Earlier, Alcaraz lauded Draper for his efforts in what has been an injury-stricken career thus far. “I remember in January when I played him in Australia, he had to retire. I said ‘you will be what you deserve’, and he deserves to be Top-10,” the Spanish superstar claimed. After countless injury layoffs and retirements, it is safe to say that Jack Alexander Draper is the present and future of British tennis.
Jack Draper’s marvellous success saw him climb to a career-high ATP ranking of No. 7 in the world on Monday. Nonetheless, he wasn’t the only Brit who overperformed in the fortnight gone by. British doubles No. 1 Olivia Nicholls reached the final of the women’s doubles draw alongside her Slovakian partner Tereza Mihalikova. The pair narrowly lost out to Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs 2-6 6-7(4).
Nicholls now has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of No. 31 in the world. With Draper making all the headlines, there is no doubt that he will inspire a wave of British talent to put their best foot forward. After all, a country with such rich tennis heritage can only stay quiet for that long before exploding onto the global stage again.
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Do you think Jack Draper has what it takes to match the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
