Buzz Feed: Draper Talks IW Defense and New Look
By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Photo credit: Tony Chang/Chang Photography
Sporting a newly-shaved head and renewed confidence in his left arm, Jack Draper strives to finish what he starts in his Indian Wells return.
Reigning champion Draper arrives at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open armed with two primary aims: stay healthy and recapture glory after a dynamic dream run last March.
The 24-year-old Briton captured the biggest championship of his career last March, knocking off two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals and defeating Holger Rune in the final to claim his maiden Masters 1000 title.
A left arm injury sidelined Draper after his US Open first-round win through until his return in Great Britain’s Davis Cup Qualifier last month.
Meeting the media at the BNP Paribas Open today, Draper said he wouldn’t be in Palm Springs unless he was fully confident he can physically go the distance.
“I feel like I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be in the tournament if I didn’t feel like I could go all the way again,” Draper said today. “That was probably the primary reason I didn’t go out to Australia, just purely because if I’m going to enter a tournament, I’m going to be in the event, I want to feel like I can be physically ready to not just take part but to go all the way, because I believe in my tennis so much that when I get out there, I know that I can play some great stuff.”
These days, the 14th-ranked Draper takes the court armed with his Dunlop racquet and gratitude he’s able to compete after an injury-induced six-month break from the sport.
“At this point, truthfully, I’m just very grateful to be back on the court, to be back on the tour,” Draper said. “I’m feeling like I have improved a lot as a player over the last eight months, but I do recognize that I have been away from the game, and it is a bit of a step up in level to just come straight back to it after that amount of time out of the game.
“So let’s see what happens. I’m sort of not overthinking things too much. My main priority is looking after my body, making sure that when I’m able to hit the match court that I’m fully prepared for what’s to come, and I always believe in my tennis, so let’s see how far I can go.”
Draper faces dual challenges at Indian Wells. He arrives with a lack of recent match play, but won’t have much time to shake off the rust residing in the second quarter of the draw alongside Grand Slam king and five-time champion Novak Djokovic and seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz, the 2022 champion. Draper opens against either Fabian Marozsan or Roberto Bautista Agut with a potential third-round match vs. Buenos Aires champion Francisco Cerundolo.
The left-hander says he’s not scared of re-injuring his arm, the question remains can he play the type of daring tennis he displayed en route to the 2025 title?
“I haven’t had the sort of injury where I have not been able to be on court at all. I have been able to practice, been able to still get the reps in over a long period of time,” Draper said. “I just haven’t been able to get to the point where I’m able to play at the highest intensity I want and go back-to-back as I’ve wanted and as I want to do on the tour to make it again to be a top player.
“I don’t have any fear around my arm. I know that I’ve got great people around me. I’ve got good experience of it now, and so I just want to make sure that I’m doing all the right things to be able to just go week after week and stay on the tour.”
The former world No. 4 said he opted for the buzz cut to craft a fresh start—and make a change after an extended absence from the Tour.
“What inspired the haircut? I think, I don’t know, I have just been out for a long period of time. Eight months is difficult,” Draper said. “Especially in an individual sport, you become quite isolated. There is a lot of difficult moments, and when you come out of that and you start to feel better within yourself, yeah, just fancied a fresh start.
“Not sure if it’s my best haircut or my best fashion choice, but something different I think is always good. I think I’ll return to it again, but maybe I’ll let it grow for now.”
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