Jack Draper has emerged as a genuine Wimbledon hope for Great Britain after a superb 2025 has seen him rise up the rankings.
Draper impressed at Queen’s Club by reaching the semi-finals of the London event before crashing out to Jiri Lehecka.
Going deep into the competition earned the British No. 1 a rise to World No. 4 in the rankings, meaning he won’t have to play Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals should they reach that stage.
Draper does not have the best record at Wimbledon and he narrowly escaped a fine from the All England Club during his first-round match in 2024.
Jack Draper smashed his racket into his bag to avoid Wimbledon fine
Draper played Elias Ymer in the first round of Wimbledon in 2024 narrowly escaping the match with a five-set victory.
The match was a close-fought battle, and Draper lost his cool on a number of occasions, but cleverly kept himself in check to avoid paying an infamous Wimbledon fine.
The star bashed his racket into his bag rather than the court, to avoid paying thousands to the All England Club.
Clare Balding, speaking on the BBC’s coverage at the time, revealed: “Smashing the racket onto his bag is quite sensible because you get fined if you damage the grass.”
The broadcaster continued: “If you damage yourself or damage your own kit then that is – albeit I guess it can be painful – not going to earn you a fine.”
Several stars are fined every year for damaging the hallowed courts at Wimbledon, with Serena Williams once swallowing an £8000 fee.
Draper was clever enough to know how Wimbledon works, presumably because he’s grown up around the sport in the UK.
Can Jack Draper win Wimbledon 2025?
Draper would have watched Carlos Alcaraz win Queen’s Club in fear, knowing he will likely need to topple the Spaniard to become the first homegrown Wimbledon winner since 2016.
One of Alcaraz’s compatriots has suggested the British No. 1 has what it takes to challenge both Sinner and Alcaraz however.
Former two-time Queen’s winner Feliciano Lopez has revealed the star could do well at SW19 on the grass against the top two players in the world.
“I think Jack is a very complete player,” said Lopez to Sky Sports. “I think if he keeps developing his game, he’d have a good chance against Carlos and Jannik on grass.”
Draper has never managed to get past the second round of Wimbledon, dropping out at that stage in 2022 and 2024.