Jack Draper Aims to Become Top 5 Player Again Before End of 2027 Season: “I Have to Be Realistic”

Jack Draper has returned to competition and recently played his first singles tournament since August last year. He participated in the Dubai Tennis Championships, where, after defeating Quentin Halys, Draper lost to Arthur Rinderknech. He will be meeting Fabian Marozsan or Roberto Bautista Agut in the opening round of Indian Wells.

He will next be playing the Indian Wells Masters, the main draw of which is scheduled to start on March 4. Draper, in fact, is playing as the defending champion. Last year, he defeated Holger Rune.

Ahead of his title defense, Draper sat for an interview with The Athletic, during which he revealed that his goal is to return to being a top-5 player before the end of the 2027 season. The Brit currently stands in 14th spot on the rankings table.

I want to have a great year, but honestly, after what I’ve been through, I just want to compete again and play consistently. There’s no reason why I can’t do really well because I feel I am a better player than I was 12 months ago.

Draper finished his 2025 season after winning his first-round match against Federico Agustin Gomez. He later withdrew from his second-round match against Zizou Bergs.

My aspirations are to be back in the Top 5 in the world by the end of 2027 and be competing for Grand Slams. That could happen sooner, but it’s easy to say that I want everything now. I have to be realistic.

Jack Draper added

So far in his career, Draper has won just one Big Title, last year’s Indian Wells. He also came close to winning the Madrid Open but failed to beat Casper Ruud in the final. Last year, apart from the Indian Wells and the Indian Wells, Draper also reached the Qatar Open final, losing the match to Andrey Rublev.

Jack Draper reveals the hardest part of staying on the sidelines

Tennis is an individual sport, and many players have often talked about its lonely aspect. Jack Draper, during that aforementioned interview with The Athletic, revealed that because he is used to the thrill and pressure of playing tennis, the lack of adrenaline while on the sidelines made him lonely.

You are used to the adrenaline of playing in front of people, and suddenly that disappears, and you go from 90 to 20 kilometers per hour. It’s an adjustment. And it can be quite lonely because it’s an individual sport, and you give it your all. During my time off, that was probably the hardest part: getting used to being more isolated and thinking beyond my life as a tennis player.

Draper has so far clinched three singles titles in his career. Apart from the 2025 Indian Wells, he clinched the 2024 Stuttgart Open and the 2024 Vienna Open by defeating Matteo Berrettini and Karen Khachanov, respectively.

Jack Draper opens up about his relationship with Jamie Delgado

During his injury hiatus, Draper parted ways with his longtime coach, James Trotman, and hired Jamie Delgado, who previously worked with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray. Delgado also worked with Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov before joining Draper’s team. When asked about his relationship with the British coach during that interview with The Athletic, the 24-year-old said:

He’s a guy who’s not got much of an ego, he’s someone that I get on extremely well with, that I trust, and hopefully we can achieve great (things) together.

Delgado coached Murray to the 2016 Wimbledon title and the ATP Finals the same year. Murray also finished that season as the No.1 player.

Also Read: What is the Prize Money for the 2026 Indian Wells Open?

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