Jack Draper’s comeback from injury is finally happening – and he could walk away with nearly a million dollars for his efforts.
The 23-year-old Brit hasn’t played since the US Open back in September. He won his first round match but then had to pull out because of an arm injury that just wouldn’t get better.
That injury basically wrecked the rest of his year.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Draper | 23 | 1,131 | 13 - 12 |
Draper had to call it quits for the entire 2025 season because of the problem. The timing couldn’t have been worse – he missed out on a guaranteed $1.5 million just for showing up at the Six Kings Slam exhibition. Stefanos Tsitsipas stepped in to replace him.
Even more frustrating? Draper almost certainly would’ve made it to the ATP Finals if he’d been healthy.
His absence opened the door for guys like Lorenzo Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime to grab those coveted spots instead.
UTS London Marks His Return
When Draper does make his comeback, it won’t be at a regular ATP tournament. He’s signed up for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London, running from December 5th to 7th.
The UTS is pretty different from normal tennis. Instead of traditional scoring, matches are broken into timed quarters with just 15 seconds between points.
It’s fast, it’s fun, and fans really seem to love the format.
This year’s UTS events have been all over the map – Tomas Machac won in Guadalajara, Casper Ruud took Nimes, and Francisco Cerundolo claimed Hong Kong. Alex de Minaur was the champion when London hosted last year.
So far, three former UTS champions are confirmed: Draper, Ruud, and de Minaur. More big names should be announced in the coming weeks.
Nearly a Million on the Line
Here’s where it gets really interesting – the money is really good.
Draper pocketed over $500,000 when he won UTS London back in 2023. This year’s champion will earn a maximum of $921,800.
The total prize pool is $1.865 million spread across all the players. With numbers like that, it’s pretty obvious why top ATP stars are willing to play during what’s supposed to be their off-season.
The Calendar Controversy
There’s been a lot of talk lately about tennis players being overworked. Holger Rune’s devastating Achilles injury at the Stockholm Open – which could sideline him for a full year – really got people fired up about the issue.
Draper was one of the players who spoke out after Rune got hurt. While he knows injuries are part of the sport, he thinks shortening the season would be smart.
Taylor Fritz has been pretty vocal about this too, pushing for schedule changes to help players’ careers last longer.
But here’s the thing that annoys some fans: players complain about the calendar being too long, then turn around and play exhibition events during their supposed "rest" time.
The recent announcement of a new Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia didn’t get much pushback from players either. That might tell us something about what really drives these decisions.
For Draper, though, the UTS London represents something more important than money – it’s his chance to get back on court and start building toward 2026.
