Jack Draper thinks the tennis culture across the United Kingdom could be better and hopes that he and Emma Raducanu could take care of that and make more people fall in love with the game.
This week in Indian Wells, the 23-year-old is making some noise as he beat rising star Joao Fonseca and three American players – Jenson Brooksby, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton – to reach his first Masters semifinal. For the Briton, this is his second semifinal on the big stage as he was also a semifinalist at last year’s US Open.
In the midst of his promising run in the desert, Draper was asked to rate the UK tennis culture. He started by mentioning that they have one of the biggest tournaments in the world (Wimbledon) and also acknowledged that Andy Murray did some great things and was a very positive influence during his playing days. But still, feels that the UK is behind some other tennis nations.
Draper: Our tennis culture isn’t huge… Would be nice to change that with Raducanu, other rising stars
“I’d say our actual culture for tennis isn’t huge in the UK. Obviously other tennis nations, you know, I think have it better with Italy and Spain and France,” the 23-year-old said.
“They love tennis a lot more than we do as a nation, but I think, you know, hopefully with what’s to come with the grass and hopefully players like myself and Emma and other top players coming through that we can really put on a good show and inspire a lot of people to play.”
While Great Britain has one of the richest tennis histories, it took them a long time before they had another male Grand Slam or Wimbledon champion. When Andy Murray won Wimbledon in 2013, he became the first British male since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Slam or The Championships.
When Raducanu won the 2021 US Open, she became the first British female to win a Major since Virginia Wade in 1977.
Obviously, winning on the biggest stage is the best and easiest way for a nation to get more interested in tennis. So if Draper and Raducanu land some Grand Slams in the near future, there is no doubt that it would lead to more interest in tennis across the UK.
Tennis World USA