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Jack Draper had a controversial on-court meltdown towards the end of his semifinal clash against Jiri Lehecka at the 2025 HSBC Championships at London's Queen's Club. The Brit, seeded No. 2 at the prestigious ATP 500 grasscourt event, was ultimately ousted by Lehecka, with the underdog securing a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory.
Draper's outburst came after he was brilliantly broken by the Czech in the crucial 11th game of the deciding set. The 23-year-old Brit stretched as much as he could to make contact with a ferocious two-handed backhand down the line from Lehecka. However, he was unable to, and in the heat of the moment, he violently smashed his racket against a digital advertisement hoarding, damaging it to such an extent that the screen went black.
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In the aftermath of his disappointing loss, Jack Draper attended a press conference. Here, he confessed he was relying on his anger throughout the match to compensate for his overall lack of energy.
"When you're not feeling great, when your energy is really low, you use everything you can to get yourself up. I'm almost getting angry to get fired up. When you do that, when you give everything you have, not just in tennis, like in anything, you're obviously a bit less mellow and playing a bit more on a tightrope," Draper said.
The British No. 1 went on to admit that as a competitor, he tends to play on the edge. However, he also expressed his desire to steer clear of such controversial behavior going forward.
"So when you try your best and things don't go your way, it's easy to spill over. That's what happened out there. Like I said, I don't want to behave like that, in all honesty, but that's just the way I sort of am as a competitor. Sometimes I just play on a bit of a tightrope. I don't want to be behaving like that," he added.
Despite his inability to reach the final at Queen's, Draper's run to the last four at the ATP 500 grasscourt tournament helped him to a new career-high ranking.
Jack Draper breaks into ATP top 4 with semifinal run at HSBC Championships 2025
Reaching the semis of the 2025 HSBC Championships at London's Queen's Club helped Jack Draper to leapfrog Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz to become the new ATP No. 4, a career-high ranking for the young Brit. The new rankings, set to be officially published on Monday, June 23, will reflect Draper's rise.
The development also ensures that the 23-year-old will be seeded fourth in the men's singles main draw at this year's Wimbledon Championships. When made aware of the news, Draper said:
"It’s an incredible feeling. I was at Wimbledon last year ranked No. 28. To go there at fourth seed is a testament to all the hard work me and my team have done, so I’m proud of that."
Meanwhile, the final of the 2025 HSBC Championships will be contested by Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, June 22.
