BRITAIN’S no1 tennis player Jack Draper is steadily climbing the world rankings, having won his maiden ATP title and reached his first slam semi at Flushing Meadows in 2024.
His parents Roger and Nicky played a crucial role in helping him achieve his sporting dreams — here’s everything we know about them.
Between 2003 and 2006, Roger Draper served as the chief executive of Sport England.
He also spearheaded a major reorganisation and review of sport funding in the UK, overseeing the completion of a number of sporting facilities and institutes.
His duties included conducting a review of how numerous sports were governed, including cricket, rugby league, boxing, athletics, hockey and golf.
He was also influential in London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid and the construction of the new Wembley Stadium.
Roger became the head of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in 2006.
During his tenure the LTA saw a 45% increase in turnover and commercial revenues, as well as a 500% increase in British tennis membership.
Under his leadership, Britain clinched the Junior Davis Cup for the first time and several juniors claimed grand slam titles.
The biggest achievement during his time was Andy Murray’s Wimbledon title in 2013.
When he stepped down from the LTA later that year, Roger said: “It has been a huge honour to serve the sport that I love so much and to play my part in leading British tennis.”
Roger also oversaw a rebranding, spearheaded stadium renovations and introduced a new membership model at the Warrington Wolves rugby league team.
The rewards from his hard work were reaped when Wolves won the League Leaders Shield, competed in the final of the Challenge Cup and earned a spot in the Super League Grand Final during their 2016 campaign.
In 2017, Roger became chief commercial officer of the Rugby Football League and the executive director of the Super League.
On his watch the salary cap for players increased and record-breaking crowds attended the Super League Grand Final.
Jack‘s mum Nicky has worked as a teacher and tennis coach, as well as being a former junior British tennis champion across several age groups.
She was a tennis coach at the Sutton Tennis and Squash Club, and that was where Jack picked up a racket for the first time.
My mum was a tennis coach, and when she was coaching my brother and I would hang around trying to entertain ourselves. I quickly picked up a racket and started hitting against the wall
Jack Draper
Speaking of Jack’s beginnings in the sport, Nicky said: “He picked up a racket for the first time when he was just one and you could see from a very young age that Jack had incredible hand-eye coordination.”
Nicky now supervises Jack’s tennis playing alongside her other son Ben — she monitors Jack’s accounts, while Ben manages his career.
In June 2024, Jack said: “My tennis journey started when I was really young, probably two years old.
“My mum was a tennis coach, and when she was coaching my brother and I would hang around trying to entertain ourselves.
“I quickly picked up a racket and started hitting against the wall.”
By the age of three, Jack was being coached by his mum’s toddler group at the Sutton Tennis and Squash Club.
Jack attended a private preparatory primary school in Cobham called Parkside School between the ages of four to 11 — where his mum worked as a teacher.
By the age of five, Jack was being coached twice a week by Justin Sherring at Weybridge Tennis Academy at Parkside School.
He later moved to an independent boarding school in the same region — Reed’s School, where Tim Henman was also a pupil.
The institution famously offered scholarships after a physical test, during which the hopefuls had to run until they dropped.
Jack was born in Sutton, south London on December 22, 2001.
The tennis ace has one sibling — an older brother named Ben.
He played tennis at the University of California-Berkeley, before pursuing a master’s at Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Ben is a former pro tennis player who now works as Jack’s agent.
The brothers look so alike they could be mistaken for twins, especially considering the fact that they are exactly the same height — 6ft 4in.
