"It hasn't been easy to get back here, it's something I can be really proud of": Jack Draper breathes sigh of relief in tour win in six months
ATPTuesday, 24 February 2026 at 16:00
Jack Draper sealed his first tour level win in six months on Monday taking down Quentin Halys 7-6(8), 6-3 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, a first win on the ATP Tour since struggling with an arm injury for most of 2025.
For Draper whether his opponent was much of a match for him or not mattered little as it was more about just getting back to winning ways after so long feeling dejected on the sidelines.
This time last year, Draper was on top of the world. He won Indian Wells this time next week and was rising towards the top three in the world but disaster struck.
His arm injury blighted him including at Wimbledon where he had his homecoming as Britain's top player. An honour bestowed upon him amid Andy Murray's retirement, Katie Boulter's downturn and Emma Raducanu not really living up to her billing.
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But he lost early and ironically it was Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie, perhaps two less favoured players in the eyes of the press who got the top billing as the only players left and summed it up for Draper who had the world at his feet so to speak then got dogged with injury again.
"It feels so good, honestly, to be out here, competing in front of people," Draper said on court.
"I had a tough opponent here today, he was tricky, he served great and it could have been a bit cleaner from my side, but I haven't played in a long time on the tour so I'm really proud of the way I came out today - hopefully I can keep going strength to strength."
Jack Draper is back.
Felt normal to be back
He has slipped down to World No.15 in the ATP Rankings and had not played tour level since the second round of the US Open last year. He did play in the Davis Cup earlier this month.
But he also got criticism from some junctures for playing once then bowing out and then not playing Rotterdam as a sure fire sign that he wasn't ready. He said the opposite in the week that followed that he was ready to play every week and it was more a baby steps approach to his return.
He now faces Arthur Rinderknech who took down Fabian Marozsan on Tuesday afternoon. He detailed his emotions after his win over Halys that saw him come through an opening tie-break then produce an assured finish.
"I suppose I've been craving the feeling of competing for a very long time," he said. "It felt normal, it felt like I was coming back to doing what I love, which is competing, having the adrenaline of winning and losing points.
"A lot of people have helped me get back to this position after a lot of down moments in the last eight months, it hasn't been easy to get back here, it's something I can be really proud of and long may it continue."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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