Jack Draper makes winning return to ATP Tour in Dubai and debuts striking new look
jack draper ended a months-long break from tour singles with a straight-sets victory over Quentin Halys at the Dubai Tennis Championships, a result that underlines his return from a left-arm injury and signals the next step in his comeback. The 24-year-old’s win on debut in Dubai came with a new haircut and a clear focus on rebuilding his serve and ranking.
Match details: debut in Dubai, scoreline and key moments
On his Dubai Tennis Championships debut, Jack Draper beat French qualifier Quentin Halys 7-6 (10-8), 6-3. Draper, seeded fourth in the event, was forced to save two set points in the first-set tiebreak and overturned an 8-7 tiebreak deficit by winning three consecutive points. The only break of the match arrived in the fourth game of the second set when the 68th-ranked Halys hit wide to hand Draper a 3-1 lead, and Draper served out the match from there.
The 24-year-old required one hour and 39 minutes to finish the victory and closed with an 86% win rate on his first serve, conceding just two further points on serve after taking the second set lead. Nineteen of Draper’s 24 winners came off his forehand, the side that had previously been affected by injury.
Injury timeline and recent competition: Davis Cup and US Open background
jack draper had not played a singles tournament match since the US Open first round on 25 August, where he beat Federico Agustin Gomez in the first round before withdrawing prior to his scheduled second-round match because of a left arm injury. He made a comeback appearance for Great Britain at the Davis Cup qualifiers on 5 February, contesting his first competitive match in 164 days and beating Norway’s Viktor Durasovic in straight sets.
Media coverage of the comeback has referred to the Dubai win as his first tour-level victory in 182 days and has described his return date as following a seven-month injury lay-off and a period in which he had played just one match since Wimbledon because of bone bruising in his left arm.
Injury cause, recovery choices and recent medical timeline
The problem began with a bruised bone in Draper’s service arm during the clay-court swing in April, an issue that progressively worsened. Determined to complete a full recovery, he took the decision to miss the Australian Open in January and then returned to action for Great Britain on 5 February. The left-arm issue was cited as the reason for his absence from tour singles for several months.
Ranking, 2025 form and career highlights before the lay-off
Before the injury interruption, Draper enjoyed a strong start to 2025: he won the Masters 1, 000 title at Indian Wells and reached the fourth round of both the Australian and French Opens. The 24-year-old rose to a career-high ranking of fourth in June but has slipped to 15th in the world during his absence from tour singles.
New look, coaching work and what Draper said after the match
Jack Draper unveiled a new buzz cut in Dubai, a look that may be inspired by Carlos Alcaraz’s accidental buzz cut at the US Open. He also spoke openly about the work behind his return: he has been hitting a "sh*tload" of serves over the past eight months and has tried to change part of his service motion since starting work with new coach Jamie Delgado. On the court after the match he said he had been "craving the feeling of competing for a very long time, " that it "felt normal" to be back competing, and that "a lot of people have helped me to get back to this position after a lot of down moments" in the last eight months.
Next opponent and other British results
Draper will face either Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan or France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the second round in Dubai. Elsewhere, British players Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie produced a mixed bag of results in Mexico.
