Jack Draper, the 24-year-old British tennis player, made his comeback at the Eastbourne International on June 21, 2026, winning his first match against American Marcos Giron 6-4, 7-6(7-5) [1, 2]. Draper had not played since April 2026 due to knee tendonitis and bone bruising in his serving arm, which forced him to withdraw from tournaments [3, 1, 2, 4]. He has struggled with multiple injuries over the past year, playing only 12 matches, which has been both physically and mentally challenging, Draper said [1, 2, 4].
Draper reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 4 in 2025 but has fallen to No. 113 after the injury layoff [3, 1, 4]. Ahead of his return, he added former world No. 1 Andy Murray as his coach last month to support his comeback during the grass-court season [3, 5, 6, 4]. Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, had retired from coaching in April 2026 but accepted Draper's invitation [5]. Draper described Murray as one of his biggest inspirations, praising his experience overcoming injuries and setbacks. "Andy obviously has been through so much in his career – many setbacks, many injuries, many adversities, but he always came through them," Draper said [3, 1, 4].
Draper said he is grateful Murray chose to help him and wants to help. "Having someone who believes in you as a person, as a player who's one of your biggest inspirations... I have a great relationship with him off the court – our relationship is very special – and that gives me a bit more energy," he added [4]. Draper also described his comeback match as "a bit like what he used to do - winning ugly" [1].
Murray called his coaching role a "super-coach" position, likening it to his former partnership with Ivan Lendl, offering high-level guidance on and off the court [5]. He said, "When Jack asked me, I thought about it, spoke to my wife and told Jack that I'd love to help him" [5].
Despite ongoing knee tendonitis, Draper said he feels he has regained full power and explosiveness [2]. At Eastbourne, Draper is scheduled to face American fifth seed Brandon Nakashima in a warm-up match ahead of Wimbledon 2026 [3, 6]. Wimbledon runs from June 29 to July 12 this year [3].
