Henman and Robson: Can British No 1 Draper compete with Alcaraz and Sinner in 2026?

Sky Sports' Laura Robson and Tim Henman feel British No 1 can compete with Grand Slam superstars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026 - provided he stays fit and healthy.

Draper was the form player on the tour earlier this year and climbed up to fourth in the world having claimed three titles over the last year, including the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells in March.

But he crashed out in the fourth round of the French Open and then suffered a shock early Wimbledon loss to Marin Cilic.

A troublesome arm injury then forced him to pull out of the US Open ahead of his second-round clash with Zizou Bergs.

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He has since called time on the remainder of his 2025 season due to the injury that dogged him through much of the campaign.

Former British legends Robson and Henman remain optimistic the 23-year-old can compete with world No 1 Alcaraz and Sinner, who have won 16 out of the last 17 tournaments in which they both played.

"I don't see why not," said Robson. "I think the trouble for Jack at the moment is just that he's not been healthy enough and consistently across the season to compete with them in terms of ranking. Especially in a best of three, we've seen him beat Alcaraz at Indian Wells this year.

"His game is so, so dangerous on faster courts and really on any surface because he's developed his play court game as well. He has the belief that it's just about being able to stay healthy."

Henman admits Alcaraz and Sinner are "setting the bar" and it's up to British hope Draper to close the gap.

"I think everybody is behind those two players, the way they've dominated the Slams. But given Jack's attributes, he's a lefty, he's got a big game, he's got weapons, he's a great athlete. If he can, again, just continue to build in the momentum on the practice court and the match court, there's no doubt that he can be challenging for big titles alongside Alcaraz and
Sinner."

Is British tennis moving in the right direction?

The Brits saw eight qualifiers for this year's US Open with Billy Harris sneaking in as a lucky loser and Henman believes the game is "absolutely moving in the right direction".

"I think we're talking about performance and when we start to talk about strength and depth, we've got some proper players at the top of the sport led by Draper and Emma Raducanu, but now we're seeing more and more players in the main draw of both in the Grand Slams, in the men's and the women's," he said.

"We've got a good group coming up both in the men's and the women's, and that's so important for your role models to inspire the younger generation.

"I can remember playing in the Slams when there was really myself and Greg Rusedski and he didn't come through our system, so it was pretty dire at that stage. You've got to keep building on it, get the next generation coming through, but I'm very positive about British tennis right now."

"I'm feeling really positive about it," added Robson. "I think there's some great juniors on the girls' side as well with Hannah [Klugman], Mika [Stojsavljevic] and Mimi [Xu]."

Has Raducanu US Open win put pressure on younger talent to do the same?

Raducanu famously won the US Open in 2021 at the age of 18, becoming the first British woman to win a major in singles since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.

Although her victory would have inspired many youngsters to take up the game, but it would have also added pressure on up and coming stars to do the same.

"Everyone's on their own journey," said Robson, who won the junior Wimbledon girls' title at the age of 14. "Some players push through at a younger age and do really well in juniors and then have that immediate pressure. And others, as we've seen over the last few years, have been going down the college route, giving themselves some more time to work on their game, to develop as a human before grinding it out on the tour.

"I don't think it's changed much in the mindset for other people.

"I think it can be an inspiration to that younger generation. I think she's an amazing role model," added Henman.

"And on the back of Andy Murray and Jack Draper, I think they are great role models. I just think it's emphasised, it's brought more attention to the game, winning one of the biggest titles. I think it's all positive."

Should Britain be producing more Grand Slam champions?

The Lawn Tennis Association [LTA] distribute millions in grants and schemes for grassroots tennis, but despite massive funding, Britain have struggled to compete on the Grand Slam stage.

"No, I don't think in any way Grand Slam champions should be the gauge of how successful the British game is," claimed Henman - a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist. "For me, we talk about grassroots accessibility and opportunity. The number of people that are playing the game is very, very important. When you move to the performance side of things, success is about maximising your potential. Grand Slam champions come along very rarely.

"I reflect on going back generations in British tennis where players didn't maximise their potential. And right now, I think there are so many more players that are giving themselves the opportunity, doing the right thing and maximising their potential. And if you get a Grand Slam champion out of that, brilliant. But that's really a by-product of a good system."

Robson added: "I kind of gauge it based on the depth as well. The depth of the men's game and the women's game in British tennis has developed so much over the last few years, even from when I was playing. And I think, especially on the junior side, it gets better and better. And what I love to see at the moment is that we are putting on more tournaments at a smaller scale.

"I think the fact that we have now put on more Challenger events, more grassroots tournaments is only helping."

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