"Not good for the product": Compromise needed to help Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu return to their best says Kyle Edmund

Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 06:30

With a lot of top names out in recent months including on a British side including Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, Kyle Edmund has called for there to be some semblance of compromise on the side of the tennis tours when it comes to missing events.

As well as these two named mostly as British stars, Edmund also referenced to Carlos Alcaraz who has missed time. He said that in reality it is bad for the product that these players are missing so the tour needs to do more in theory to protect them albeit of course it can't be helped as such if they do end up getting injured.

But in terms of for some it is due to over excessive play and continually being on the tour and as someone himself who struggled with injuries, Edmund said that there has to be a better way to deal with it in reality.

“There’s no doubt that for the tour, having our best guys out – like this year with Alcaraz and Draper on the men’s side – is not good for the product,” said Edmund in an interview with Tennis365.

“It’s not good for the tournaments, fans… players want to see them. From a British point of view, we had our two best players, Raducanu and Draper out [of Wimbledon].

Edmund questions British management setup

“We don’t want that, so whatever it needs to take to come to a compromise, where the tour is happy for what they need, and the players feel like there’s more of a balance in everything – I think that would be great.”

Edmund went on to add that he doesn't particularly have the answer either and said that as a fellow Brit, it isn't particularly all sewn up and that he did hire people from all over the world to help with his training so he doesn't understand the Brit woes as for many, it is foreign coaches anyway so shouldn't dictate a lot.

“I don’t know. It’s really hard to say because a lot of the guys, including myself, we all had our own personal team,” said the two-time ATP title winner.

“It wasn’t like it was a British tennis management setup. We all had our own people. I used foreign people, as well.

“I honestly don’t know. If we did have the answer, we would be in a better place. It’s really hard to tell.

“There’s no doubt, the way that tennis is, if you’re out, you’re not earning money, you’re losing momentum in your career, you’re losing ranking positions. So, we want to try and keep fit as much as possible.”

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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