Jack Draper: Laura Robson and Tim Henman think England No.1 could rival Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026 | tennis news

Sky Sports’ Laura Robson and Tim Henman believe England’s No.1 could compete with 2026 Grand Slam superstars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner if he stays fit.

Draper was a form player on tour earlier this year and rose to No. 4 in the world after winning three titles last year, including the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells in March.

However, he was eliminated in the fourth round of the French Open and suffered a shocking loss to Marin Cilic early in Wimbledon.

A serious arm injury forced him to withdraw from the US Open ahead of his second round match against Zizou Bergs.

Since then he has been asking time for the rest of his days The 2025 season was plagued by injuries that plagued him throughout the season..

Former England legends Robson and Henman are optimistic the 23-year-old can compete with world number one Alcaraz and Sinner, who has won 16 of his last 17 tournaments.

“I don’t see why not,” Robson said. “I think the problem with Jack at the moment is that he is not healthy enough to compete with them in terms of rankings and has not been consistent throughout the season, especially in Indian Wells this year when we saw him beat Alcaraz in the best-of-three.

“His play is so dangerous on faster courts or on any surface because he’s developed his play-court game as well. He has faith that he can stay healthy.”

Henman admits Alcaraz and Sinner are “setting the standard” and it will depend on the Englishman’s hopes for Draper to close the gap.

“I think everyone is behind those two guys as they dominated the Slams, but considering Jack’s attributes, he is left-handed, he has a big game, he has weapons and he is a great athlete. If he can continue to build momentum on the practice and match courts again, there is no doubt that he can challenge for a big title with Alcaraz. doesn’t exist.
sinner.”

Is British tennis moving in the right direction?

Britons have played eight qualifiers at this year’s US Open and with Billy Harris sneaking in as a lucky loser, Henman believes the game is “absolutely moving in the right direction”.

“I think when we talk about performance and when we start talking about strength and depth, there are some players who are fit for the top of the sport, led by Draper and Emma Raducanu, but now we are seeing more and more players in the main draws of the Grand Slams, men’s and women’s,” he said.

“We have a good group coming out of both men and women, which is very important for role models to inspire the younger generation.

“I remember playing in the Slams when me and Greg Rusedski didn’t get through our system, so it was pretty terrible at that stage. We’ve got to keep improving and the next generation has to take over, but I’m very positive about British tennis at the moment.”

Robson added: “I feel really positive about it.” “I think we have some great juniors on the women’s side like Hannah (Klugman), Mika (Stojsavljevic) and Mimi (Xu).”

Does Raducanu’s US Open win put pressure on young talent to do the same?

Radukanu famously won the 2021 US Open at the age of 18, becoming the first British woman to win a singles major since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.

Although her victory may have inspired many young players to take up the game, it would also have put pressure on rising stars to do the same.

“Everyone has their own journey,” said Robson, who won the Wimbledon women’s junior title at the age of 14. “Some players do well at a young age, perform really well as juniors, and then feel the pressure right away. And then, as we’ve seen over the last few years, other players are following through college and trying to spend more time working on their game and developing as a person before going on tour.”

“I don’t think other people’s mindset has changed much.

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

“If you look at Andy Murray and Jack Draper, I think they’re great role models. I think it highlights it, brings more interest to the game and they’ve won one of the biggest titles. I think it’s all positive.”

Should Britain produce more Grand Slam champions?

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) distributes millions of dollars in grants and initiatives for grassroots tennis, but despite the huge funding, England has struggled to compete on the Grand Slam stage.

“No, I don’t think being a Grand Slam champion should in any way be a gauge of the success of the British game,” said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semifinalist. “For me, we’re talking about grassroots accessibility and opportunity. The number of people playing the game is very important. When you move over to the performance aspect, success is about maximizing your potential. Grand Slam champions rarely come out.

“I look back at past generations of British tennis where players didn’t maximize their potential, and I think there are a lot more players now who are giving themselves a chance, doing the right thing and maximizing their potential. And if you get a Grand Slam champion out of that, that’s great, but that’s really a by-product of a good system.”

Robson added: “I also judge by depth. The depth of the men’s and women’s games in British tennis has improved a lot over the last few years, even since I was playing. I think the juniors in particular are getting better and better. And what I’d like to see now is more tournaments on a smaller scale.

“I think the fact that we now have more challenger events and more grassroots tournaments only helps.”

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