Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has hailed the ability of fit-again Jack Draper ahead of his anticipated return to action at Eastbourne next week.
US Open semi-finalist Draper has taken on the torch from Murray as the nation’s great hope for male British success at Wimbledon, but endured an injury-stricken 12 months and has only played nine matches in 2026.
Before another fitness issue thwarted his French Open participation, Draper enlisted the help of Murray as his coach for the grass-court campaign and the Scot talked up his compatriot during an interview with The Sun at Queen’s Club.
“Jack is supposed to be playing in Eastbourne next week. He’s been training and getting ready for that. He’s been on the court most days for the last few weeks,” Murray said. “His tennis is bloody good. He’s really good. Obviously he’s had lots of issues the last year with various injuries. I feel like he’s starting to come out the other side of that now.
“The next step is getting on the match court and getting a consistent run of tournaments and weeks under him and building trust again in his body.”
Murray explained how the coaching partnership with Draper could extend beyond Wimbledon, but only on certain terms around his own family life.
He said: “I get to spend a decent amount of time with Jack. I also believe a lot in his tennis. In the sessions I’ve done with him, I’ve been more impressed probably than what I expected and I thought he was good before I started helping him. He’s a quick learner. He’s got very few holes in his game. He’s a more complete player than probably what I expected as well.
“I really like Jack, and I wanted to help him when he asked if I could. But I was quite clear about what I could and couldn’t do. I still want to be able to pick my kids up from school, drop them off at home…he’s asked for me to help him over this next period. I’ve enjoyed being on court with him. We’ll see how the next few weeks pan out.”
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