Jack Draper recently opened up about the ongoing problem of online abuse in tennis and sports. This year has been a major success for him, marking a breakthrough season that established him as a potential Grand Slam contender. He reached the US Open semifinal without losing a set before falling to Jannik Sinner, who went on to win the title.
Draper claimed two titles in 2024, showcasing his skills on different surfaces. He first triumphed at the Stuttgart Open on grass by defeating Matteo Berrettini in an exciting three-set final. Later, he secured victory at the Vienna Open, an ATP 500 event, with an impressive performance against Karen Khachanov.
Despite these achievements , Draper is eager to improve even more next season. After his Vienna win, he confidently stated his desire to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2025. Fans might wonder if he’s ready for such big challenges yet.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| gb Jack Draper | 22 | 1,131 | 13 - 12 |
Online Abuse: A Growing Concern
During the off-season, Draper will train with Alcaraz for a week to prepare for upcoming battles. In an ideal world, people would only admire his talent and wish him well for future tournaments because he’s quite entertaining on court.
Sadly though, reality bites hard with social media trolls targeting athletes relentlessly. Draper shared this harsh truth during an interview with The Guardian where he revealed receiving numerous hateful messages online after matches—whether he wins or loses—and acknowledged that female players face even worse harassment.
“My first pro match in 2018,” Draper recalled vividly, “I think I won love and love [6-0, 6-0], and I was a horrible person – they were going to find my mum.” It’s clear that no matter what happens on court; negativity follows closely behind.
He continued by saying how losing matches now leads to hundreds of clown emojis and snake comments flooding his Instagram page: “Everyone has it,” he said somberly before adding emphasis toward women getting more abuse than men do within tennis circles today.
Others like Osaka have also voiced concerns over managing negativity from social media despite being seasoned pros themselves while Thanasi Kokkinakis pointed out Djokovic’s fans’ aggressive behavior marked by crocodile emojis lurking around profiles everywhere!
It’s perfectly fine supporting someone passionately but crossing lines into abusive territory should never be acceptable behavior anywhere ever again… What do you think?
