Jack Draper on the psychic toll of repeated injuries
After years of physical setbacks, the British star reflected on confidence, identity, and learning to start over.
Living with chronic pain has changed the questions I find myself asking athletes struggling with injuries. Before my own health became so uncertain, I probably would’ve been satisfied with a straightforward update. What’s the diagnosis? When will you be back? Do you feel healthy again?
Now I’m much more curious about the baggage these setbacks can bring—the mental toll of living in a body that keeps interrupting your plans, what it does to your confidence, your identity, and your relationship with the things you love most.
That’s what I found myself thinking about as Jack Draper sat down to speak with reporters ahead of Wimbledon on Sunday.
“Obviously you’ve been dealing with injuries on and off for the last few years,” I asked him. “Could you speak to the psychic toll that can take on a person? How have you managed your body essentially letting you down?”
Draper didn’t answer by listing out his injuries or explaining rehab timelines. Instead, he looked back to Wimbledon last year.
He described arriving at the All England Club feeling as though everything was finally coming together. After spending so much of his early career fighting through physical hurdles, he’d climbed to No. 4 in the world and felt like he was gradually building toward something bigger. His confidence was growing, his body felt reliable and, perhaps for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t thinking about whether he’d be healthy enough to compete.
Then, in his words, “you have something that stops you in your tracks when you’re not expecting it.” That thing was a bruised humerus bone in his upper left serving arm that contributed to an early loss at his home Slam and took him out for the rest of the season, barring one match at the US Open that ultimately confirmed he needed more time off.
He spoke candidly about how difficult that particular injury was to accept. After feeling as though he’d reached the silver lining phase of the past few years, he found himself watching his ranking slide and facing yet another stretch on the sidelines. But he was quick to reframe the disappointment, a mindset that feels almost essential for anyone hoping to survive at the highest level of professional sport.
“I suppose you’ve got to see that as where you’re at,” he said. “You always have to look at the positive side of things. I have to rebuild myself and I have to start again almost.”
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