Andy Murray gives fitness update for 'bloody good' Jack Draper's Wimbledon chances, explains 'hard' part of Novak Djokovic partnership
Published 17/06/2026 at 15:33 GMT+1
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Andy Murray has delivered glowing praise of Jack Draper after their first month of working together, while he believes the 24-year-old is ”starting to come out the other side” of his fitness issues.
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Murray has been working as an adviser and temporary coach to Draper, who has been plagued by a series of injuries in the last year, completing just eight matches since his second-round exit at Wimbledon in 2025.
Draper has not played on the ATP Tour since he started working with Murray, last featuring at the Barcelona Open in April, when he retired in the opening round because of a knee injury.
But Murray has delivered a positive fitness update with Wimbledon less than two weeks away, while the two-time champion at the All England Club has been somewhat taken aback by the ability of the British No. 3.
”Jack is supposed to be playing in Eastbourne next week,” Murray said at Queen’s Club on Tuesday, in quotes reported by The Telegraph. ”He’s been training and getting ready for that. He’s been on the court most days for the last few weeks.
”His tennis is bloody good. But he’s obviously had lots of issues the last year with the various injuries. And I feel like he’s starting to come out the other side of that now.
”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.”
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Murray added: ”In the sessions I’ve done with him, I’ve been more impressed probably than what I expected. And I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him.
”He’s a quick learner. He’s got very few holes in his game. He’s a more complete player than probably what I expected as well.”
Draper was suffering from bone bruising in his elbow during the latter stages of last season, while he has most recently been dealing with a shoulder issue following the knee problem that caused him to withdraw in Barcelona.
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His absences have led to him plummeting down the rankings, now 113th in the world, having been as high as fourth following his Indian Wells triumph in 2025.
Murray was not prepared to start travelling on the tour with Draper, but he was evidently keen to help his fellow Brit, and he has struck an arrangement that suits his lifestyle well.
”I really like Jack, and I wanted to help him when he asked if I could. But I was quite clear about what it is I could and couldn’t do,” Murray said.
”[Travelling on the tour] is not something that I want to do right now, and it’s why there’s very few coaching jobs that I could potentially help with.
”The fact that he lives 30 minutes away allows us to spend a lot more time together than what would be the case with a player from Spain or America: that’s just not going to work, and you wouldn’t feel like you’re actually able to help them.
”So yeah, I get to spend a decent amount of time with Jack. I also believe a lot in his tennis.”
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Murray’s first coaching role saw him team up with former rival Novak Djokovic for six months at the start of last year, before the pair parted ways ahead of the French Open.
”I didn’t find it weird when I was watching matches with Novak,” Murray said when discussing the high-profile partnership.
”The build-up to the matches I found quite hard, because you need to get your communication with the player right, and make sure that everything is under control: the right courts booked, practice partners, balls, racquets, strategy. All of those sorts of things. You want that to go smoothly.
”And then once the player is out on the court, I found it quite easy.
”I found the pre-match stuff harder than sitting in the box watching and observing a tennis match and trying to be objective about it. I didn’t feel like I got too emotionally invested in the matches where I couldn’t think. To be honest, I quite liked that part of it.”
Draper has targeted a return at the Eastbourne Open to step up his pre-Wimbledon preparations after withdrawing from Queen's.
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