Andy Murray says Jack Draper is expected to play in Eastbourne next week. Draper has not played since the Barcelona Open in April, but he has been on court most days for the last few weeks as he works back from injury.
Murray has spent the last month with Draper at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre, serving as an adviser and temporary coach. He was direct about the level he has seen: “His tennis is bloody good.”
Eastbourne and Wimbledon
The timing matters because Draper is trying to turn training into matches again before Wimbledon. Murray said, “The next step is getting on the match court and getting a consistent run of tournaments and weeks under him and building trust again in his body.”
Draper’s ranking shows the size of the gap he is trying to close. He has dropped to No 113 after a series of injuries, having been ranked fourth last year, and his latest setback has involved his serving shoulder along with knee and elbow problems.
Murray’s view of Draper
Murray said he has been encouraged by what he has seen in the sessions. “In the sessions I’ve done with him, I’ve been more impressed probably than what I expected,” he said, adding, “He’s a quick learner.”
He also described Draper as a player with little wasted movement in his game. “He’s got very few holes in his game,” Murray said. “He’s a more complete player than probably what I expected as well.”
Jack Draper on track for Eastbourne return, Andy Murray says is the clearest sign yet that the comeback plan is moving from practice to competition. If Draper does get to Eastbourne, the immediate test is not just whether he can play, but whether he can start stacking matches again after months off the tour.
From practice to matches
Murray has said he wants to keep helping for the next period, and the arrangement has fit around his family priorities. That leaves Draper with a straightforward but difficult next step: take the training court form he has shown over the last few weeks and carry it into a tournament week.
The return would give Draper a first chance to reset the numbers after injury cut into his season. It would also tell him whether his body can handle the strain he and Murray have been building toward, before Wimbledon sharpens the stakes again.
