Jack Draper is set to make his long-awaited comeback to ATP Tour action at the start of the 2026 season.
After missing a large portion of his 2025 campaign due to injury, Draper is set to return during the Australian swing in January and will play at both the United Cup and the Adelaide International.
The Briton has battled with an arm injury since the Madrid Open earlier this year, and found out he had bone bruising in his humerus after getting a scan following his second-round exit at Wimbledon.
Draper skipped most of the North American hard-court swing and briefly returned at the US Open, where he played just one match before withdrawing from the tournament, marking his last appearance of the season.
Ranked 10th in the world currently, the 23-year-old is one of the many young stars looking to close the gap on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner next year, which former British number one Tim Henman thinks he is capable of.
Tim Henman discusses Jack Draper’s return to the ATP Tour
As per the Australian Open website, Henman said: “Can anyone really come into the [Alcaraz-Sinner] conversation? Right now, I don’t see it.
“[But] a year is a long time in life and certainly in sport. And the one person I would love to be in that conversation is Jack Draper again.
Who will join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a new ‘big three’?
“Because there’s no doubt in the first half of 2025, he was in the conversation, the way that he beat Alcaraz in Indian Wells, and he made the final in Madrid.
“He was playing great tennis. So we’ve got to be patient. It will take him time to get matches under his belt and that match fitness”
Draper reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world this year after an impressive first half of the season, during which he claimed a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.
He put together an incredible campaign in the first half of the Sunshine Double, defeating Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Alcaraz en route to the final, where he beat Holger Rune.
Jack Draper’s results against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Draper’s bout with Alcaraz at Indian Wells was one of three he had against the Spaniard in 2025, and the other two did not go his way.
They met at the Australian Open, where Draper found himself two sets down before retiring due to physical issues.
Two months after Draper beat him in Indian Wells, Alcaraz earned revenge on the clay courts of Rome, winning in straight sets.
Draper trails the head-to-head with Alcaraz 2-4, but is tied with Sinner, though he has not faced the Italian in 2025.
His last match with Sinner remains their 2024 US Open semifinal clash, where Draper fell in straight sets.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
