Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Politics Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Finance Travel Life & Style Football Tennis Transfer news F1 Boxing UFC Cricket Rugby Other Golf NFL Racing NBA Jack Draper could be the latest British tennis star to make a statement after the success of Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray.
Jack Draper has been backed to enjoy the most success out of the British players this year (Image: Getty)
Jack Draper narrowly beat out Cameron Norrie as tennis fans tipped the 22-year-old to have the best season for a British player. With Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray leading the pack in recent years, the current world No. 50 could emerge as the next big thing in British tennis.
British tennis is in a positive place with four men in the top 100 of the ATP rankings and three women in the WTA top 100. With Murray announcing that he likely won’t play past this summer and Raducanu trying to build back up following an eight-month injury layoff, there is space for newer names and faces to achieve success and win over new fans.
Plenty of players have already shown themselves as candidates to take over from Murray and Raducanu. Norrie is a former top 10 player and already has a Masters title under his belt, winning Indian Wells in 2021. Meanwhile, Katie Boulter has been steadily climbing back up the rankings over the last year following a difficult period with injuries.
But Draper is the one who Express Sport readers are backing to have the best season in 2024 after an injury-stricken year in 2023. Asked while British rival would have the best season, 38 per cent voted for the 22-year-old from Surrey.
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Cameron Norrie is the highest-ranked Brit, man or woman (Image: Getty)
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Currently sitting at No. 50 in the world, Draper just pipped Norrie to the post as the country’s top-ranked man received 34 per cent of votes. Draper has already shown his potential – reaching the finals of his last event in 2023 and his first event in 2024.
A former world No. 38, Draper reached a career-high ranking last January before facing several setbacks. He retired injured in Indian Wells and subsequently pulled out of the Miami Open. Returning on the clay, Draper then hurt his shoulder during his opening match at the French Open and retired again, missing the entire grass-court swing.
But he made big strides when he returned on the North American hard courts, making the quarter-final of the Winnipeg Challenger and upsetting 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz en route to the second week of the US Open. After winning the Bergamo Challenger in Autumn, Draper carried his momentum onto the regular ATP circuit by reaching his first tour-level final in Sofia.
Katie Boulter has also enjoyed an upswing over the last year (Image: Getty)
During the off-season, Draper won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition in London, beating top players like Holger Rune and Casper Ruud en route. He started 2024 with a bang, making it back-to-back ATP finals when he got to the championship match in Adelaide.
The British No. 3 has made it no secret that he believes he can be one of the best young players when he’s fit and healthy, and he’s hoping to crack the top 20 this year. And Express Sport readers agree that this could be a significant season for Draper.
After Draper and Norrie, 17 per cent claimed that Boulter could be the one to enjoy the most success this year. Dan Evans followed with seven per cent of the votes while Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage received three per cent and one per cent respectively.
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