Emma Raducanu reveals Jack Draper ‘left behind’ fear ahead of Wimbledon Championships

Sam Cooper 28 Jun 2025 1:48 PM

Emma Raducanu is facing competition from Jack Draper to be the UK’s best hope.

Emma Raducanu said she does not want to be “the one left behind” as another British star Jack Draper nears the top of the game.

Following her 2021 US Open win, Raducanu became the great British hope but in recent years, another Brit has taken the spotlight in the form of Draper.

The 23-year-old arrives at Wimbledon as the number four seed, hoping to become the first Briton since Andy Murray in 2016 to win the Championship.

Raducanu meanwhile is unseeded for the tournament and admitted she does not want to be left in Draper’s shadow.

“You see them win their match so you want to win your match, and it’s that kind of healthy competition, because you don’t want to be the one left behind, you know? And I think that’s a good thing, and it’s not coming from any bad place,” Raducanu told the Guardian.

Despite this concern, Raducanu was quick to praise Draper as well, saying it is has been “cool” to see his rise through the ranks.

“It is amazing,” Raducanu said. “I’ve known him for so long, so many years, and when we were juniors, we were both pretty promising, and now to kind of be British No 1 on both men and women’s side and the real thing is, it’s pretty cool.

“So this Wimbledon, I’m sure, for him, will feel different, but he’s in a great place, and obviously with his seeding you know, hopefully it can help him.”

Despite Draper’s seeding, his route to success appears particularly difficult with a potential quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic followed by a tie against reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz.

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Radcuanu though is hoping her interests away from the court will help her game on it.

“It is something I’ve discovered recently,” she said of a one-year art history course she enrolled in. “I think I was growing up very kind of boxed into a way of thinking that, like maths and logic and like ABC, and then as I kind of went through it over the last few years and figured out what I actually enjoy.

“I think when I play my best, I’m very free. I’m enjoying it, I don’t have to be so serious and ‘on’ all the time, because sometimes on the court, if you’re laughing, it can be seen as unserious. But actually for me, it’s a better way, and I’m probably going to play better than if I’m just putting so much pressure on myself to be ‘on’ and perfect.

“Sometimes I want to go into the future and think: ‘Oh my God, am I going to regret not enjoying this moment? “I’m 22 now, so I’m kind of living for that person to not have any regrets to look back on.”