New Coach Andy Murray Gives Jack Draper Big Boost Ahead of Wimbledon: “He Believes in My Tennis”

After the ongoing Eastbourne International, Jack Draper will compete at Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 29. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament where Draper has never progressed to the third round.

Because of Draper, Andy Murray will also be returning to Wimbledon, not as a player, but as a coach. Back in May this year, Draper announced that Murray would be coaching him throughout the grass season.

Ahead of starting his campaign in Eastbourne, Draper sat for an interview with Sky Sports, during which the youngster talked about the influence of the three-time Grand Slam champion on his career and what it means for him to hear one of his idols praise his tennis, especially while he was dealing with physical setbacks.

He has always supported me. I’ve always had a great relationship with Andy. We spent some time together towards the back end of his career, and he’s been a great support to me ever since he has stopped as well, but it felt like a really good time to get Andy in my team. I’ve always wanted that because he’s one of my biggest inspirations.

This is Murray’s second coaching job. After calling time on his career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Scot joined Novak Djokovic‘s team about four months later, but their partnership ended after six months. Under his former rival, Djokovic reached the semifinal of the Australian Open and the final of the Miami Open (lost to Jakub Mensik) last year.

To have him there in my coaching team, not only as a coach, but a mentor as somebody who has been through it all, which is a special thing. But also the fact that he believes in me, believes in my tennis – especially in this moment now, which is to come back and build myself up again. It gives me a big boost!

Jack Draper added

Last year at Wimbledon, Draper suffered a second-round exit. Marin Cilic beat him in four sets.

Jack Draper on his injury struggles

Jack Draper was forced to skip the remainder of the 2025 season after he withdrew from his second-round match at the US Open. It was an arm injury that kept him on the sidelines, and he did not return to competition until February for the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Draper played three more tournaments, including the Indian Wells Open, where he competed as the defending champion and reached the quarterfinals. But at the Barcelona Open, he was forced to retire mid-match from his opening-round match due to a knee injury, which also kept him on the sidelines during the French Open.

I always saw injuries as being a one-to-two-week thing, so when you have a big one, you do lose a lot of confidence in your body and doing the thing that you’ve always been able to do. You can go from doing anything to then really struggling just to move without pain or something like that, so you have to work yourself through it. 

Jack Draper told Sky Sports

Draper is the winner of three titles from seven finals. He last won a trophy in Indian Wells last year by defeating Holger Rune. Last year, apart from Indian Wells, he also reached the title clashes of the Qatar Open and the Madrid Open, losing both to Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud, respectively.

In Grand Slam events, Draper has made just one semifinal, at the 2024 US Open, losing that match to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. The four-time Grand Slam champion will enter SW19 as the defending champion (beat arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz last year).

Also read: Andy Murray Reveals If Serena Williams’ Comeback Tempted Him to Make Retirement U-Turn