How Britain’s number one Wimbledon prospect went from frail boy to muscular ‘monster’ – with a mentality to match: the inside story of Jack Draper – the next big thing in British tennis

Jack Draper stalked the Queen’s Club grounds like an apex predator. The brawny 22-year-old hammered his serves and crushed his forehands and bullied Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz into submission, scoring the victory of his life to thrust himself into the public eye.

Could this be the same little boy who looked almost frail compared to his junior contemporaries? The young pro whose body was battered by injuries, or the man who collapsed in front of the press a month ago in Paris and said he felt like he was “playing without a serve”?

Draper has always been an exceptional talent, but his path to a maiden title at Stuttgart this month, that victory at Alcaraz and the status of British number 1 has been winding and perilous.

As a growth spurt went through his young body, injuries followed, and he recently committed to leaving behind the little boy who had to fight for every point and adopting the heavyweight style of play that his powerful body demands.

In many ways his career was defined by his early years as a player, so Mail Sport spoke to Justin Sherring, who coached Draper from the age of five to 15, to get the inside story on the next big thing in British tennis.

“Everywhere we went, he was one of the smallest guys,” Sherring says. “We were training with (British contemporary) Anton Matusevich – he was 6ft 1in and looked like (Rocky villain) Ivan Drago, and Jack was 5ft 4in. He had to keep up with the bigger guys, there were never any excuses.

Lacking physical power, Draper had to find other ways to feed his insatiable appetite for victory.

“When you’re small, you focus more on skill development and tactics,” says Sherring, who now coaches four-time Grand Slam champion Joe Salisbury in men’s doubles.

“So he was a very talented player and an incredible competitor. He was the European No. 1 at 14, but it was never due to a physical advantage.

“At 10, he was playing with all my best 16-year-old players, but no one wanted to play him because he was too focused.

“He was 15, playing in India like a very good player, six inches taller than him. I couldn’t believe how much he wanted to win and how much he was willing to do whatever it took. You could see the monster that was developing.

At the age of 17, the monster suddenly had a body to match. It was as if Draper had gobbled up the cake labeled “eat me” that Alice finds in Wonderland; he grew taller and thicker, climbing towards the 1.93m figure he now embodies.

Height is a huge advantage in tennis, but dramatic growth spurts can be problematic for young athletes. Ajax, the Dutch soccer club known for developing its young players, meticulously tracks young players’ growth spurts and tailors training to avoid injuries.

As Draper grew, injuries kept coming, hampering his progress in the rankings. Sherring thinks Draper may have been pushed – or pushed himself – too hard at that age.

“I coach the next generation of boys and when they go through their major growth spurts, you have to be very careful not to overtrain,” Sherring says. “Jack is only used to pushing himself. You have to master these guys.

“He was with (coach) Ryan Jones and Ryan is known for being an absolute beast, an absolute master. So it may have been a little unfortunate given Ryan’s motivation, Jack’s motivation, the Jack’s body… but there aren’t many children who go through this stage of growth and puberty without problems.

“If he had met someone very scientific who could have put the brakes on and said, ‘Let’s take it easy for a few months’… but I don’t think the environment would have been like that.” »

When Draper’s 2021 US Open campaign ended with a torn groin, he brought in former Croatian Olympic sprinter Dejan Vojnovic as his new fitness coach. But his body continued to deteriorate.

“I was injured all over my body,” Draper told Queen’s this month. “I had shoulder problems, hip problems. My body was made of glass.”

In late 2023, Draper parted ways with Vojnovic and reunited with his former strength and conditioning coach Steve “Speedo” Kotze, who had previously worked with Andy Murray.

Doubling down on his already incredible work ethic, Draper and Kotze together reforged this body of glass into a frame of iron.

“Steve is the best guy around,” Sherring says. “I’ve been on the court next to them at the National Tennis Centre and the work they do… Jack plays hard points, he works his butt off. Then the point is over and Speedo throws him a medicine ball and makes him do some drills, then he goes straight to the Wattbike, he has to go as hard as he can, he has 20 seconds rest and then some box jumps.”

“One day I looked at him and said, ‘Look at you: earning the right to feel like a million dollars on the court.’ Later that evening he messaged me and said, “Win ​​the right.” I like it.” It also took a bit of confidence, because some of the guys he worked with maybe weren’t doing things that were good for his body.

The latest chapter in Draper’s story began with the intervention of former South African world number 6 Wayne Ferreira. The 52-year-old had recently split from American Frances Tiafoe and contacted Draper.

It’s relatively unusual for a coach to approach a player, but Ferreira felt he could improve an attacking game he called “weak.”

Draper himself felt that he had never really been able to break out of the scrappy, worn-out style he was forced to play as the smallest kid on the block.

He admitted that, against the best players, he felt like he was “1.68m tall”.

But since May, when Ferreira came on board, he and Draper head coach James Trottman began the difficult process of reforming their players’ play.

He looked horribly out of shape on clay, stuck in limbo between defence and attack, and struggling with a service action that had been refined under Ferreira.

The worst was his first-round loss to qualifier Jesper de Jong at Roland Garros, which left Draper devastated but determined to persevere: “Things have to change,” he said. “And it’s going to take time.”

In fact, it took just over two weeks for Draper to look like a different player when he won the title on the Stuttgart turf. After commenting on “playing without serving” in Paris, Germany, he scored 31 aces against Tiafoe in the quarterfinals.

“It’s quite similar to Andy Murray,” Sherring says. “For years he was told he needed to stop grinding his teeth, everyone was trying to train him to be more aggressive.

“I am really impressed by Jack’s determination and his total commitment. This can also be a relief: Jack says, “Okay, I’ll go for it, whatever has to happen will happen.” It’s a great mentality. »

Draper couldn’t be in a better place for Wimbledon. He faces Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer on Tuesday and could next face Cam Norrie, the man he usurped as Britain’s number one.

Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 4, awaits him in the third round, but after Alcaraz’s victory, Draper should fear absolutely no one on this surface.

“I was in the players’ lounge at Queen’s,” Sherring concludes, “and people were saying, ‘Can you believe he just beat Alcaraz?’ I said, ‘Of course I can. That guy can go all the way.