Jack Draper recently attended the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton to test out a different type of tennis after making his debut for the Lexus GB Davis Cup squad in Manchester.
Tennis for the visually impaired is one of the most popular sports for the blind and partially sighted in the United Kingdom, and it is available to players of all ages, levels of fitness, and skills.
While training several weeks ago, Draper was encouraged to play the sport alongside Tracy Compton, Ewan Hayward, and Minerva Ainsworth after he met one of Great Britain’s top VI players.
Draper said: “Back in April I was walking around the National Tennis Centre and I saw Tracy and her beautiful dog. I came down to say hi and then she explained what they were doing, and I managed to have a go at VI tennis. I was so inspired by her story and the other players on the court that day. As a young player, you’re thinking about all the stresses that come with being a professional and you don’t often get to appreciate that the game offers much more than that.”
Draper expressed his thoughts: “These guys are inspiring us as well, honestly, just seeing what they’re doing is really inspiring. I love trying to learn new things and what you can do is incredible. I tried to do it myself and I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other.”
“Thank you for showing me this.” 🤗 @jackdraper0 getting involved with some Visually Impaired (VI) Tennis at the National Tennis Centre with players Tracy Compton, Ewan Hayward & cricketer Minerva Ainsworth 🎾 pic.twitter.com/qE5g1RXjlR
— LTA (@the_LTA) September 27, 2023
Draper in the Orleans Challenger, ranking, and results in 2023
Now the world no.106, the Brit owns a compiled 19-10 record in 2023. Jack is playing at the moment in the Orleans Challenger where he toppled the world no.108 Radu Albot 6-2 6-2 and the world no.356 Tristan Lamasine 6-4 6-4.
Jack Draper will face the world no.174 Gijs Brouwer in the quarter on Friday at 3:00 pm on CENTRAL ARENA. The head to head is 1-0 for Draper.
