Jack Draper: Laura Robson and Tim Henman really feel British No 1 can compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026

Sky Sports activities’ Laura Robson and Tim Henman really feel British No 1 can compete with Grand Slam superstars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026 – supplied he stays match and wholesome.

Draper was the shape participant on the tour earlier this yr and climbed as much as fourth on this planet having claimed three titles over the past yr, together with the Masters 1000 occasion at Indian Wells in March.

However he crashed out within the fourth spherical of the French Open after which suffered a shock early Wimbledon loss to Marin Cilic.

A difficult arm harm then compelled him to tug out of the US Open forward of his second-round conflict with Zizou Bergs.

He has since referred to as time on the rest of his 2025 season because of the harm that dogged him via a lot of the marketing campaign.

Former British legends Robson and Henman stay optimistic the 23-year-old can compete with world No 1 Alcaraz and Sinner, who’ve gained 16 out of the final 17 tournaments wherein they each performed.

“I don’t see why not,” stated Robson. “I believe the difficulty for Jack in the intervening time is simply that he isn’t been wholesome sufficient and persistently throughout the season to compete with them by way of rating. Particularly in a better of three, we have seen him beat Alcaraz at Indian Wells this yr.

“His game is so, so dangerous on faster courts and really on any surface because he’s developed his play court game as well. He has the belief that it’s just about being able to stay healthy.”

Henman admits Alcaraz and Sinner are “setting the bar” and it is as much as British hope Draper to shut the hole.

“I think everybody is behind those two players, the way they’ve dominated the Slams. But given Jack’s attributes, he’s a lefty, he’s got a big game, he’s got weapons, he’s a great athlete. If he can, again, just continue to build in the momentum on the practice court and the match court, there’s no doubt that he can be challenging for big titles alongside Alcaraz and
Sinner.”

Is British tennis shifting in the best path?

The Brits noticed eight qualifiers for this yr’s US Open with Billy Harris sneaking in as a fortunate loser and Henman believes the sport is “absolutely moving in the right direction”.

“I think we’re talking about performance and when we start to talk about strength and depth, we’ve got some proper players at the top of the sport led by Draper and Emma Raducanu, but now we’re seeing more and more players in the main draw of both in the Grand Slams, in the men’s and the women’s,” he stated.

“We’ve got a good group coming up both in the men’s and the women’s, and that’s so important for your role models to inspire the younger generation.

“I can keep in mind taking part in within the Slams when there was actually myself and Greg Rusedski and he did not come via our system, so it was fairly dire at that stage. You have to preserve constructing on it, get the subsequent technology coming via, however I am very constructive about British tennis proper now.”

“I am feeling actually constructive about it,” added Robson. “I believe there’s some nice juniors on the ladies’ facet as nicely with Hannah [Klugman], Mika [Stojsavljevic] and Mimi [Xu].”

Has Raducanu US Open win put strain on youthful expertise to do the identical?

Raducanu famously gained the US Open in 2021 on the age of 18, turning into the primary British girl to win a serious in singles since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.

Though her victory would have impressed many kids to take up the sport, however it will have additionally added strain on up and coming stars to do the identical.

“Everyone’s on their own journey,” stated Robson, who gained the junior Wimbledon ladies’ title on the age of 14. “Some players push through at a younger age and do really well in juniors and then have that immediate pressure. And others, as we’ve seen over the last few years, have been going down the college route, giving themselves some more time to work on their game, to develop as a human before grinding it out on the tour.

“I do not assume it is modified a lot within the mindset for different folks.

“I think it can be an inspiration to that younger generation. I think she’s an amazing role model,” added Henman.

“And on the back of Andy Murray and Jack Draper, I think they are great role models. I just think it’s emphasised, it’s brought more attention to the game, winning one of the biggest titles. I think it’s all positive.”

Ought to Britain be producing extra Grand Slam champions?

The Garden Tennis Affiliation [LTA] distribute tens of millions in grants and schemes for grassroots tennis, however regardless of huge funding, Britain have struggled to compete on the Grand Slam stage.

“No, I don’t think in any way Grand Slam champions should be the gauge of how successful the British game is,” claimed Henman – a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist. “For me, we talk about grassroots accessibility and opportunity. The number of people that are playing the game is very, very important. When you move to the performance side of things, success is about maximising your potential. Grand Slam champions come along very rarely.

“I mirror on going again generations in British tennis the place gamers did not maximise their potential. And proper now, I believe there are such a lot of extra gamers which might be giving themselves the chance, doing the best factor and maximising their potential. And when you get a Grand Slam champion out of that, good. However that is actually a by-product of a very good system.”

Robson added: “I kind of gauge it based on the depth as well. The depth of the men’s game and the women’s game in British tennis has developed so much over the last few years, even from when I was playing. And I think, especially on the junior side, it gets better and better. And what I love to see at the moment is that we are putting on more tournaments at a smaller scale.

“I believe the truth that we’ve got now placed on extra Challenger occasions, extra grassroots tournaments is simply serving to.”

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