Jack Draper is now five months into his player-coach relationship with Jamie Delgado.
After Draper parted ways with James Trotman in October, Delgado, who guided Andy Murray to world number one status in 2016, stepped into the role as the 24-year-old’s head coach.
Most of their partnership thus far has been spent off the court, with the Briton having been sidelined for a large portion of 2025 and the first month of 2026 with an arm injury.
Where will Jack Draper be ranked at the end of 2026?
Will he return to the top 10 or are you predicting him to drop down?
Since returning to action, Draper has picked up wins at the Davis Cup and the Dubai Tennis Championships, and is now attempting to defend his Indian Wells crown in California.
Prior to the injury, he had reached a career-high of fourth in the world and was closing in on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP rankings.
Despite the setback, Delgado still thinks Draper is capable of challenging the ‘new two’.
Jamie Delgado discusses Jack Draper’s potential
Asked if Draper is the biggest challenger to Alcaraz and Sinner in an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Delgado said: “Yeah, I think so. For sure he can. I mean, there’s a few guys that will feel the same way, but he’s definitely one of them.
“And like I say, those guys like Carlos and Jannik and all these top players, they like to have matches in their control.
“They like to be the ones dictating the play and, like I say, feeling in control. And when you play Jack, I don’t think it’s quite that way, because he can serve so well and he’s got the power to sort of out-hit players, even those kind of guys.
“If he connects on the ball and he’s really playing well, of course he has to be playing well, but he’s got the tools to disrupt that.
Who will join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a new ‘big three’?
“Some guys will, of course, try and be dictating against them, but they won’t have the firepower to really hurt them. Jack does have that.
“Of course, you’ve got to put it together, and there are a lot of things that go with that, but he does have tools to take the racket out of their hand in a certain way.
“If he’s on, he can hit the ball big from the back and, on his day, he can serve really well as well, which is frustrating for anyone.
“It’s because they don’t feel they’re getting as many hits at the ball as they normally would. So it’s frustrating for them. Yeah, for sure.”
Jack Draper’s record against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Draper has played Alcaraz and Sinner multiple times on the ATP Tour, and he has emerged victorious against both.
Against Sinner, Draper has recorded one win and one loss, with the sole triumph coming at Queen’s in 2021.
Their last matchup went the way of Sinner, however, with the Italian defeating him in the semifinals of the 2024 US Open.
Draper has beaten Alcaraz twice, managing the feat for the first time at Queen’s in 2024.
His second win over the world number one came in the Indian Wells semifinals last year en route to his maiden Masters crown.
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