Tennis
Britain’s Jack Draper Urged To Leave UK and Move Overseas To Further Tennis Career
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished31 Oct 2024
Tennis coach Mark Petchey has urged British No. 1 Jack Draper to pack his bags and move to a ‘hot, humid place’ for a few years in order to take his career to the next level.
Britain’s No. 1 Jack Draper has continued his rise in the world of tennis, claiming his biggest scalp yet in winning the Vienna Open last Sunday, which takes him into the world’s top 15 for the first time in his career.
It follows his impressive showing at the US Open earlier this year, where the 22-year-old defeated the likes of Botic van de Zandschulp, Tomas Machac and Alex de Minaur on his way to the semi-finals, before losing to eventual winner and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
Since then, Draper has struggled with injury, as he was forced to retire from the Japan Open at the quarter-final stage due to an abdominal problem.
The Vienna Open marked his return to the court however, and he marked his return in fine fashion by claiming his second ATP title of the year, with his first coming at the Stuttgart Open back in June.
Despite his successes though, in order to keep developing and growing as a tennis player, the Sutton-born star has been urged to pack his bags and leave the UK.
Jack Draper Urged To Move From UK To ‘Hot, Humid Place’
Speaking to Bally Casino, tennis coach Mark Petchey, a former world No. 80, praised young Draper after making a strong start to his professional career but suggested that the British No. 1 needs to move abroad to get used to playing in warmer climates.
“Jack has an incredible skill set on the tennis court, which to me is much more important than his body has ever been.
“I’ll choose skills and weapons over physique in tennis every time as a coach.
“However, I do think Jack needs to go and live in a hot, humid place for a couple of years to make sure that he takes the stress out of what he feels like when his body starts really hurting in those conditions.”
Of course, Draper memorably threw up at both the Australian Open and US Open and struggled with hydration at the Olympics, with the level of heat undoubtedly playing a part at each event.
He currently resides in London and often returns to his hometown of Sutton in between tournaments in order to see his family and friends.
“I think that would be the smartest decision [moving abroad] that he could make and would take his Grand Slam-winning potential even higher,” Petchey continued.
“It won’t be easy for him, but if he’s going to make that sacrifice, I think it will bring him the results that he wants. Jack works his butt off on all areas of his game, and anyone that thinks differently is just frankly wrong.”
Draper is currently competing at the Paris Masters, where he is favoured to defeat Alex de Minaur in the round of 16 according to the UK’s best tennis betting sites, having overcome the USA’s Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.