'You have to be a bit nuts to be a tennis star'

Jack Draper leaves the practice courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ahead of the Wimbledon championships

Jack Draper, 22, who was born in Sutton, south London, is set to begin his Wimbledon Championships campaign amidst huge excitement and expectation after the winning streak that made him the British number one.

In the space of a few days, Jack won his first major tournament in Stuttgart, became Britain’s highest ranked tennis player, defeated the reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s and was selected for Team GB at the Paris Olympics.

His mother, Nicky, who is a tennis coach at Parkside School in Cobham, acknowledged that “things have intensified a bit” for her son. Meanwhile, in a BBC interview, Jack admitted that to be a professional tennis player, “you have to be a bit nuts”.

The tennis star, who enters the Wimbledon tournament ranked as one of the top 30 players in the world, has been drawn against Sweden’s Elias Ymer, ranked 206, in the first round, which starts on Monday.

'Amazing moment'

Jack showed a precocious tennis talent from an early age, surprising his mother by hitting a ball against the garage door when he was aged just one.

A left-handed player despite doing everything else with his right, he was three when he started tennis coaching with his mum’s toddler group at Sutton Tennis and Squash Club.

By the time Jack was five he was being coached by Justin Sherring at Weybridge Tennis Academy, who would visit his young protégé twice a week at Parkside School for tennis lessons.

Assistant head Alex Gainer remembers a magical moment during the school’s "Road to Wimbledon" tournament, where an eight-year-old Jack outplayed an opponent who was five years older.

“The whole school and all the teachers [were] watching this one titanic match," he said.

"No one went back to class, everyone finished the game off properly - it was an amazing moment for the school and people to remember, when Jack beat that older boy and he could go on to do good things."

Nicky Draper and Alex Gainer will be watching Taylor's progress at Wimbledon

Jack's success at tennis is very much a family affair.

Nicky Draper, herself a junior tennis champion, helps with her son's accounts and his older brother Ben is his manager.

His maternal grandmother, Brenda, introduced the family to tennis, while grandfather Chris describes himself as “obsessed” with Jack's progress. Even Ozzy the dog helps out, according to the family.

“It’s really nice to have people who you love - and you know they have your back at every turn - around you on a day-to-day basis," Jack said.

"That’s what keeps the feet on the ground, that’s what keeps you motivated and ultimately keeps you sane in the sport.”

He added that "part of the reason I’ve got to this stage is that I’ve been fortunate enough to have an older brother I was able to hit with and compete against - have that sibling rivalry.

"I remember when we were younger the only time we played against each other, he beat me and that just killed me, even though he’s four years older than me.”

The family says even Ozzy the dog helps out with Jack's tennis

Jack describes himself as “calm” and “genuine”, adding with a chuckle, “I think I’ve always been a good boy".

"If you asked the people around me they’d probably say, I’m a little bit nuts. In all honesty, being a professional athlete, especially being a tennis player, you have to be a bit nuts," he said.

When Jack plays at Wimbledon, he will be followed closely by aspiring young players attending the schools in Surrey from which he is an alumni.

Alex Balls, deputy head at Reed’s School in Cobham, said: “I think Jack on his day is good enough to beat anyone. We’ll be rooting for him and if that can edge him over the line in tough games, all the support from Reed’s will be there in spades.”

The BBC has comprehensive live coverage of Wimbledon across TV, iPlayer, radio, Sounds, online and the mobile app from 1-14 July.