It is not all that long ago that tennis star Jack Draper was ranked number four in the world, and pundits were discussing whether or not he had what it takes to make the modern-day big two in the sport a big three. However, while the 24-year-old spent a good deal of time inside the top 10 in the middle part of 2025, he dropped back to 11th in October.
Since then, he spent a good deal of time in either 11th or 10th place in the rankings. However, struggles with an arm injury have limited the events in which he could play and also his ability to perform at his best when he did make it out onto the court. He dropped down to 15th in February, but as he won Indian Wells in 2025, the biggest victory of his career, his run to the quarters this year meant the loss of a huge number of ranking points.
That saw him tumble down to 26th in the ATP rankings. The last time he was that low was back in August 2024. Draper will be most concerned about his own world ranking and how this will impact his draw in the tournaments ahead. Things will be tougher for him now, but once he gets fully over his injury, we expect him to start rising up the standings once again.
New British Number One
Draper’s focus will very much be on his own game and winning matches, but a small part of him may be stung by the fact that his slide means he is no longer the British number one. Cameron Norrie now sits above Draper, the 30-year-old having moved up five places to number 24.
The two Brits were slated to face each other in the semis had they both won at Indian Wells. Whilst Draper lost to Daniil Medvedev, Norrie was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz, both Brits losing in straight sets. However, whilst they both reached the same stage of the tournament, the quarters, Draper saw his points tally drop by 800 (due to the 1,000 points he earned for the win last year), whilst Norrie’s rose by 150.
Norrie is nowhere near his career-best ranking, that coming back in September of 2022 when he peaked at number eight in the world. Given his age and the level of tennis we can expect from him, given his ceiling is pretty well established now, he is unlikely to get back to that lofty level. Draper, in contrast, will feel that, no matter how good Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz are, and no matter how far away their level seems, he can still one day become the top-ranked male tennis player in the world. Time will tell.
Draper Will Hit Back
This is the second time that Norrie, who was born in South Africa, has been the British number one. His career is an interesting one, given that he represented New Zealand when a junior player and then became the number-one-ranked player in the US collegiate system, having attended Texas Christian University.
Despite this international flavour, Norrie’s parents are both British, his dad a Glaswegian and his mother hailing from Cardiff. Representing Britain was probably always on the cards, and he has done it well, but his second stint as British number one may not be a lengthy one.
Draper, Norrie’s rival for that position, is still finding his way back after a niggling injury, but beating Novak Djokovic, the world number three, at Indian Wells was a statement victory for Draper. He beat the Serbian in a thriller over three close, exciting sets. Realistically, a run to the quarters has to be classed as a fine result for the Brit in what was just his second tournament back from injury.
If he is definitely 100% over the problem, then he will only improve in the weeks ahead. His compatriot was certainly impressed by his play in California, Norrie saying, “that was extremely impressive – his second tournament back and he’s already competing at that level.” He added that he himself was “out with injury for three or four months, and it took me four or five tournaments to really start feeling OK.” He finished by saying that he thought the duo would be “battling for the spot for the rest of the year”.
That certainly seems likely, as there are just 43 ranking points between the Brits after Indian Wells. Next up is the Miami Open, where neither man is defending many points. If Draper outperforms Norrie there, he will immediately recapture the title of British number one. However, after that, the current British number one will have a chance to hit back, with Draper needing excellent results to defend the many points he earned during 2025’s surprisingly impressive clay-court season. We could be in for an interesting British sub-plot in the months ahead.