This time last year, Jack Draper was in the midst of putting together a brilliant set of results and speeding towards a career-high ranking of No 4 in the world, which he achieved in June.
He won the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, reached finals in Doha and Madrid, and made the second week in both the Australian Open and Roland Garros before a left upper-arm injury stopped him in his tracks.
It was a complex bone stress injury he first started feeling in Madrid, in May, and it ultimately sidelined him for six months, limiting him to just two matches since Wimbledon.
The British lefty played his first match since last summer’s US Open in a Davis Cup tie earlier this month but makes his official return to the tour at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week, where he is the No 4 seed.
“I feel great, honestly, to be here in Dubai. I've actually never played this tournament before, so really excited to be here,” Draper told The National on the eve of the event.
“I know the Brits love Dubai as well, so to be playing in a tournament that I've watched growing up and seen a lot of my idols playing feels great.
“And then just on a personal level, to be back competing and back on the tour is a really good feeling for me, and I'm excited to get going here this week.”
The tennis tour is relentless and rarely gives players a chance to press pause and do anything else away from the sport. For Draper, the pause was involuntary but it came with a few perks.
He got to be around friends and family at a time when he never would have been around had he been competing. He did regular everyday things, like walking his dog and having dinners with his grandparents.
They were all things he had missed while he was on tour. On the flip side, dealing with his injury took a mental toll on him.
“Truthfully, it's not easy mentally to go from being sort of 100 miles an hour and achieving and moving forwards and wins and losses and a lot of adrenaline the whole time to then go back to kind of, not normality, but almost normality, going at a much slower pace,” said the 24-year-old.
“And yeah, it's been way too long since I've been able to compete and able to be out here on the tour, so I used that time. I tried to be grateful to be with my family and to be at home, but at the same time, it was a process to get back on court and I'm happy to be back.”
Draper explained that bone stress injuries are particularly difficult because the healing process is far from linear.
“That's the toughest thing about the injury I had. There's no right answer,” he added. “It's not like a hamstring tear or an ab tear where you know it's going to be two weeks, three weeks and then you're going to be fine. This is something that takes months and months and months and often with not a lot of results. And so it's tough to stay positive and tough to keep moving forwards.
“I've had people reach out to me and friends who are in sport or in tennis who I speak to. And I think that's just life and sport in general.
“You're going to have ups and downs and it's not always going to be going your way. And so you have to accept these moments and use them to make you stronger and keep moving forward.”
Draper received lots of advice from more experienced players and the consensus was that he should take his time and not rush to get back on court.
“I like to think I'm still young and I've still got a long career ahead of me where I can achieve many things. So it's important not to rush that process.”
Draper, who is ranked No 12 in the world this week, says his approach to the sport remains the same, but he does come back to the tour with a fresh perspective and keen to take care of his body.
“I think from a recovery point of view, my habits off the court maybe changed a little bit. Like I'm trying to sleep more and recover better. I understand the value of my body a hell of a lot more. And I think just learning to maybe slow down a little bit as well and to know that you don't have to always be working ridiculously hard all the time. It's a marathon, not a sprint,” he said.
While Draper was away, Novak Djokovic made a stunning run to the Australian Open final, knocking out Jannik Sinner along the way, before falling to Carlos Alcaraz.
Draper says the Serbian 24-time Grand Slam champion continues to be a source of inspiration for him.
“Nothing surprises me with Novak. I think, for me, he's the greatest tennis player of all time,” said Draper. “He is an example to everyone just of longevity and true greatness. I think whenever I watch him play, I'm always inspired by the fact that in Australia, what he won it, like 10 times? And he's out there in his 11th final there. And for me and for many other players, he's a proper inspiration and someone that we all look up to and aspire to be like.”
As he returns to action, Draper has a new coach in his corner, Jamie Delgado, who worked with former world No 1 Andy Murray for many years.
Following his Dubai debut this week, they will be flying to Indian Wells, where Draper will be looking to defend his title. Is he finally pain-free?
“It's difficult to say at the moment. I'm still at the very end of my process of that. But do I think that I'm going to be good to play full out and play week after week? Absolutely,” he assures.
