Draper: "Before, I didn't want to make an effort or sacrifice myself, I didn't want to be professional"

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Approaching that dreamed Top 10, Jack Draper has displayed his best tennis level in this 2024 season, at least in the most sustained way possible and without major setbacks due to the injuries that once halted his progress. The British player, currently ranked 15th in the world, is critical of his past self, while also reflecting on his evolution in terms of maturity over all these years.

"When I was younger, I didn't have much of a work mentality. When you are younger, you enter the tennis world and you don't really know what it's all about. It's a brutal change, because you realize that if you want to be good, you have to mature and be an adult at 20. I wasn't prepared for that; I didn't want to make an effort. I didn't want to sacrifice. I didn't want to be a professional. I didn't want to do all that it entails," Jack Draper confessed in the most honest way possible in an interview with The Guardian.

"That's when I realized I had to change. I am very, very proud of how I took the responsibility to be truly different and have reaped many rewards from those decisions. Many good things have come from trying to be better, to grow, to be a better person, more independent, and more of a man."

His evolution as a tennis player and as a person

"I always hear people say that it's not the achievement that makes you feel good, but the process that leads you to achieve something. Going through all that, all the work, doubts, and concerns... The enjoyable part is the work itself. This year I have experienced incredible moments that made me feel good, but I have also learned to enjoy the hard work and all the difficult things that come with it. I am calmer. I believe much more in my tennis and my life off the court. It's hard for a young player. You are so busy playing tennis that your personal life gets put aside. I have managed to find a good balance. In London, I can train, but I also have my own place. I'm very happy with many things and have become more of my own person."

About the hatred arising from the world of betting

"My first professional match in 2018, I think I won by 6-0 and 6-0, and I was a horrible individual, that they would find out about. Every match, whether you win or lose, you receive hundreds of messages from people, and you really can't stop it. If I lose a game nowadays, just check my latest Instagram account to see about 100 comments with clown emojis, snakes, and all that kind of stuff. You can't control it. Everyone has it, especially girls. Girls experience it much more than boys."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Draper: "Antes no quería esforzarme ni sacrificarme, no quería ser profesional"