Jack Draper Reveals Peculiar New Hire on His Coaching Team After Breathtaking Run at Qatar Open

The latest Jack Draper ATP ranking sees him reach his highest position yet after reaching the Qatar Open final, and the man himself says his ‘breathtaking’ run has literally everything to do with controlling his breathing.

Jack Draper Says Hiring a Breathing Coach Has Transformed His Game

Jack Draper’s game appears to be going from strength-to-strength as he tightens his grip on the ATP rankings.

An extraordinary run in Doha was yet another example of his unrelenting stamina, as he battled back from a set down in both the quarter and semi-finals to set up a final showdown with new number nine-ranked Andrey Rublev.

Although Draper’s capacity for strong-willed comebacks and gut-busting points is well-documented, so too is a pattern of eventually running out of steam when it matters most.

Rublev managed to claim a convincing third set 6-1 to clinch the Qatar Open as Draper faded in the decider, but the man himself has revealed he has been working with a new coach to try and maximise his stamina.

Draper, who has a history of dealing with injuries aggravated by long, drawn-out matches, has said struggles with his breathing has plagued him since he was young.

Speaking to the ATP, the 23-year-old said: “Historically, I had a lot of problems with my sinuses when I was younger, and I suppose in tennis, in sport, we’re always trying to look for the small percentages.

“I’ve realised over time that of course I need to focus on my physical improvements. That’s got better, and my physicality and everything has got better, but I felt like still sometimes I would get out of breath, or when I’m a bit anxious, I’d really struggle still.

“So I started to look into more of the other reasons potentially why and one of them was I’ve always had problems with my sinuses, so could it be that my breathing is maybe non-efficient?

“I realised that I was a real mouth breather, and so I looked into how I could start to maybe change functionally the way I breathe.”

healthy jack draper is an UNSTOPPABLE FORCE 🦸🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/drkZQDmAAw

— Dee (@tifosasainz) February 21, 2025

The British number one reached the Australian Open fourth round before being forced off court against Carlos Alcaraz due to persistent hip problems that plagued his off-season preparations.

Prior to that, Draper won three five-set matches in a row despite coming off a pre-season with very little tennis under his belt.

He continued, saying: “There are still lots of improvements to come, but I worked a lot on trying to breathe through my diaphragm and my nose instead of breathing through my mouth, because you can’t get enough oxygen in that way.

“So especially when we’re out on court and we’re playing long points and it’s hot and stressful, it’s just trying to learn how to breathe more efficiently for your body to work at a high level.”

Draper appears to be listening to his body more after having his Australian Open run cut short, and he has decided to skip the next event in the Middle Eastern swing in Dubai this week.

Jack Draper ATP Ranking

Jack Draper’s journey to his second ever ATP 500 final has catapulted him to his highest career ATP ranking.

320 extra points for reaching the final sees him leapfrog Grigor Dimitrov, Ugo Humbert, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune to hit number 12.

Although Draper will sit out Dubai this week, he will be gearing up to crack the ATP top 10; he currently sits just 280 ranking points off number 10 Tommy Paul.