Jack Draper: Inside story on the US Open hero who is finally realising his potential
Jack Draper may appear to have become an overnight sensation after his thrilling run at the US Open, but the reality is he has been one of the most talked about players in tennis for the last five years.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner may be the young guns hailed as the future of the men’s game after an era dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Yet Draper has always been part of the ‘Next Gen’ group of potential champions and with his fitness levels now matching his explosive talents, what comes next could be very exciting.
Andy Murray may have vacated the tennis stage as Britain’s leading player, yet Draper has timed his arrival as a big-time player at the top of the men’s game perfectly.
This is a story that has been a couple of decades in the making, with the 22-year-old introduced to tennis by his mother Nicky, who was a tennis coach at Sutton Tennis & Squash Club.
Alongside his brother Ben, a young Jack developed a real passion for tennis and quickly became a rising star in his country.
With his father Roger leading the LTA as their chief executive when Jack was coming through the ranks, the man charged with finding the next great British tennis star would not have known that his own son would emerge as his greatest success story.
There was some media debate over whether Roger was favouring his son with the funding he was getting early in his career, but Jack confirmed his promise with a run to the 2018 Junior Wimbledon final and now is firmly established as British No 1.
Backed by the LTA’s hugely impressive Pro Scholarship Programme from a young age, Draper’s huge serve and power-packed ground shots always had the potential to take him to the next level, with his coach James Trotman playing a key role in his development.
“He had been working with Justin Sherring for many years and Jack was part of a very strong crop of players coming through at that time,” states Trotman, Trotman told the LTA website.
“I remember watching him on a trip to Spain in those early days. He was unbelievably competitive, but he was up and down emotionally and also on the court. It was like an emotional roller-coaster watching him compete.
“Jack then worked with Ryan Jones for almost four years and I started getting more involved in his set-up at the back end of last year.
“We didn’t set too many targets at that point, but the biggest goal when we started was trying to find a way to keep him fit and on the court.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you are not on the court and building momentum by competing regularly, you will never know how good you can be. A big team were involved in this at the LTA from physios and doctors and a lot of the work we put in in the pre-season period of this year started to pay off at the start of 2022.
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“It’s a fine line between success and failure in tennis you need to grow and keep getting better from wins and losses.
“A lot of the bits of the puzzle have come together for Jack over the last few months. All your experiences add to your belief that you belong at this level.
“The goal for all of us is to get Jack as fit as possible, keep improving his game because he has a lot of improvement to do. It is all about getting yourself to be the best possible version you can be.”
Trotman’s role in Draper’s rise cannot be underestimated, with his fatherly influence in evidence as Jack bounced back from injury troubles last year vital to his impressive form in 2024.
The impact Trotman had on Draper as his US Open quarter-final against Alex de Minaur appeared to be in the balance in the second set highlighted how important a player/coach relationship can be.
Clear instruction from Trotman when De Minaur was coming back into the contest refocused Draper in the biggest match of his life and with each step he is taking on his road to the top, there is a real sense that he has a chance to follow in Murray’s footsteps and become a Grand Slam champion.
He may have lost out against Jannik Sinner in his first Grand Slam semi-final, but Draper has every reason to believe there will be more opportunities to come in the biggest tournaments in tennis.
