Jack Draper, given his remarkable rise to prominence, will spearhead the bulk of British hopes at Wimbledon this year.
After all, he is the new world number four, having performed admirably at many recent elite-level tournaments.
2025 has been the true standout year for the Brit, building on last year’s run to the semi-final at the US Open with an Indian Wells title as well as reaching the final in Madrid.
However, this all becomes irrelevant in the eyes of the British media if he does not back it up on his home turf. This is a notion that Greg Rusedski will know better than anyone, and has sought to emphasise.
Greg Rusedski warns Jack Draper ahead of Wimbledon
Speaking on his Inside In podcast, the former British number one was optimistic when rating Jack Draper’s chances at Wimbledon.
However, he did add a dash of realism, noting: ‘From a British perspective we are all excited about Draper. Lefty, big serve. Is he ready to win it? No, probably not. But can he do some damage and upset somebody? Yes. Do I think he is going to get to the semis? Probably.’
Then seeking to offer some advice to the youngster, Rusedski warned him of the pressure that will ramp up heading into the next Grand Slam: ‘That is going to start next week at Queen’s. He is going to get the pressure, the expectation, the newspapers are going to go crazy.
‘That’s another thing, having to deal with the social media, the papers and being British. You are either great or not. There’s no in-between with the way we write in this country.
‘Why didn’t you win Wimbledon? We aren’t you Andy Murray? What is taking you so long? That’s the pressure he is going to have to deal with because you don’t get your normal journalists that follow the tour all year round, you get the whole country involved and their thought process is different to people who follow the tour all year round.’
Nick Kyrgios predicted if Draper could win a Grand Slam earlier this month, and it seems Rusedski also shares a similar view on 22-year-old.
Jack Draper’s historical performance at Wimbledon
Draper is so young, and therefore does not have a long history with Wimbledon, but last year marked the first where many started to expect things from him.
After all, he was coming off the biggest win of his career at Queen’s, where he had beaten the reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Unfortunately, the occasion clearly got to him, and he was knocked out by fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in just the second round.
Jack Draper’s last five Grand Slam performances
| Year | Round Reached | Defeated by… | |
| French Open | 2025 | Fourth Round | Alexander Bublik |
| Australian Open | 2025 | Fourth Round | Carlos Alcaraz (retired injured) |
| US Open | 2024 | Semi-Finals | Jannik Sinner |
| Wimbledon | 2024 | Second Round | Cameron Norrie |
| French Open | 2024 | First Round | Jesper De Jong |
2023 was a tough year for Draper, who suffered an abdominal injury early on which ruled him out of the entire grass-court season, thus missing Wimbledon.
2022 and 2021 were equally as frustrating though for the young up-and-coming star, who exited in the second and first rounds respectively.
With few points to defend and lots of hype, there’s a real chance that Draper could soar even further up the rankings with a strong run at Wimbledon this year.
