JACK DRAPER’S NEXT CHAPTER STARTS NOW
The former world No. 4 on tennis’s injury crisis, the dark side of life as an athlete and his unlikely new hobby: gardening. Plus, why he got his new nose ring in Rio.
Words: Stuart Brumfitt | 23.10.26
One day you’re seeing pictures of Jack Draper training in Rio, the next you’re having breakfast with him in London.
Still jet-lagged from a red-eye home, Jack played host on Tuesday on the incredible subterranean tennis court at the Garrison Club, for the launch of a new partnership with Swedish health brand Flowlife. After an injury-blighted year, it couldn’t be a better time to team up with a company that specialises in red light recovery, which is said to speed up muscle repair.
Draper says he’s already feeling the benefits of Flowlife’s many products (hyperbaric chambers, heat lamps, compression boots, lymph rollers). His mum, Nicky, a former British champion and coach, has also been enjoying them, particularly his skin-improving red light mask. “Before Wimbledon, I wore it a few times, then all of a sudden I came downstairs and my mum was wearing it. It was always out of battery because she was wearing it the whole time, then it just went missing from my house!”
When we last spoke to Jack for the cover of BAGEL at the start of 2024, he was on the rise but still a way off his US Open semi-final later that year. That run boosted his self-belief and led to an astonishingly good 2025, in which he won his first Masters 1000 at Indian Wells, reached the Madrid final and hit a career-high world No. 4, before a recurring arm injury forced him to end his season early. It’s plagued him ever since, practically wiping out his 2026 competitive calendar.
The tour and its fans have missed a player who felt like one of the few genuine threats to the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz (he’s beaten both), so it was great to hear that his training starts again in earnest today. With his bleach-tipped hair and new nose ring, Draper seemed relaxed and energised, ready to kick off what he’s calling the second half of his career.
“You see all the highs, you see all the successes, but life as an athlete is pretty dark”
BAGEL: How was Rio? Were you hitting out there, or just there for holiday?
JACK: I always loved the idea of going to Brazil. It was good. I just went for a few days, to see the place, and hit a few balls out there to keep ticking over. Since Cincinnati, I've had time off to reset mentally and physically. Obviously, I've had a long injury process, so mentally, I need some time to regroup and get my energy back. I'm looking forward to getting back to training tomorrow to start thinking about next year.
BAGEL: Like you said, it’s very mentally tough going through injury, but has it been easier knowing that so many other top players like Alcaraz, Sinner, Musetti, Fils and co have all been going through similar things?
JACK: Not really. I don't wish injury on anyone. The injury I had in my playing arm was really not good, especially with the momentum that I was building. I was a top player in the world and then it gets taken away from you. Having an injury that just doesn't really recover was brutal. It's definitely taught me a lot about myself, my body and the people around me. When you're doing great, everyone’s very nice. Then when you're not doing so well, you'll know the people who really truly care about you. I'm looking forward to coming back with a good perspective, full of energy to approach the second half of my career.
“The main thing is I don't want to get older and not be able to touch my toes”
BAGEL: Considering this is happening with so many top players, will you do a different schedule when you come back?
JACK: I'll definitely look after my schedule as best as possible. Longevity is something that I want to achieve. I want to be playing for a long time. There's a lot of young tennis players now looking at the tour schedule and people say, “Oh, you don't need to play every week,” but at the end of the day, young players want to be number one. And to do that, you have to play week in, week out. There's been a lot of money-making decisions in tennis, especially from higher up. And although there's been a lot of good stuff going on, they’re really putting a whole generation in danger, getting injured all the time. It's more to do with the nature of the way the game's going as well: slower courts, slower balls and then athletes getting better. So it’s not in a good place.
BAGEL: In terms of athleticism, it’s crazy what’s required now. Since Djokovic, it’s almost expected that players should be able to do the running splits.
JACK: Yeah, I think that's it. Athletes are getting better, technology is getting better. Athletes are having to push their bodies more and more to cope with the demands of the level that everyone can produce. Especially also with the nature of how slow the courts are getting, which means you can get to those balls. Tennis now is such a physically demanding sport. And obviously with the calendar being so long, and all these things combining, it's producing a lot more injuries.
BAGEL: Did you see the Rafael Nadal documentary?
JACK: Yeah.
BAGEL: I was quite shocked and surprised about the pain he lived through to achieve what he did.
JACK: Yeah, of course, it won't be just him who's going through it. It’s every athlete. That's something that athletes deal with all the time: constantly with niggles, constantly in pain. It's just about how you can manage your body best. One thing I got from that is that he had amazing people around him and a good team to keep pushing him and propelling him forward. But yeah, it's dark. Truthfully, you see all the highs, you see all the successes, but life as an athlete is pretty dark.
BAGEL: Is it weirdly comforting to see that he went through that too?
JACK: Yeah, but I knew that. I knew that Rafa had a lot of troubles over the years. As a fan, it's interesting, but if you’re in the sport, you know what people are going through. The main thing is I don't want to get older and not be able to touch my toes.
BAGEL: Or have hip resurfacing in your 30s like Andy Murray.
JACK: Exactly.
“I'm looking forward to coming back full of energy to approach the second half of my career”
