Henman is “worried” as Raducanu and Draper’s fitness throws the United Cup campaign into disarray, leading him to conclude that British tennis is in crisis as reports claims that…
Tim Henman has issued updates on Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper’s pre-season preparations ahead of the start of their 2026 campaigns at the United Cup.
Current British No 1’s Raducanu and Draper are currently in the middle of their pre-season training and will begin their 2026 seasons representing Great Britain in the mixed team competition.
A solid year for Raducanu saw the Brit finish the season ranked 29th in the world, her highest year-end ranking since 2021, and form a strong partnership with acclaimed coach Francisco Roig.
The 23-year-old and Roig have been working together in Barcelona in recent weeks ahead of the new season, after the world No 29 called an end to her 2025 campaign in October.
A breakthrough 2025 saw Draper win the first Masters 1000 title of his career in Indian Wells and then reach the Madrid Open final, climbing to a career-high of fourth in the ATP Rankings.
However, injury disrupted the Brit’s second half of the season, with Draper falling in the second round of Wimbledon and then playing just once more — reaching round two of the US Open before his withdrawal.
Former British No 1 Henman is Great Britain’s team captain at the United Cup, and has been following the progress of both players closely in recent weeks.
Speaking to the United Cup website, the former world No 4 issued a positive update on both Raducanu and Draper’s training.
He said: “[They are] moving in the right direction.
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“Obviously, Jack had a very difficult time … he’s building it up. He’s got Jamie Delgado now in his corner. So, a lot of experience there.
“He’s just got to keep working day in, day out to build it up so that he’s ready to be on the match court.
“Likewise with Emma, she’s been in Spain a bit with Francisco Roig, and she’s again looking to make sure she puts in the necessary work so that she can be ready to hit the ground running in Perth because we’re all aware of the matches we’ve got.”
Great Britain has been handed two interesting group-stage encounters in Perth, with an opening tie against Japan on January 4, before facing Greece the following day.
The clash versus Japan promises to pit Raducanu against former world No 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, in one of the biggest potential matches across the whole round-robin phase.
Meanwhile, the tie in Greece looks set to pit Raducanu against former top-10 star Maria Sakkari, while Draper will likely take on two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“We play Japan first, and I think all eyes are on Raducanu and Osaka. They’re both US Open champions. They both love hard courts,” added Henman.
“They’ve played against each other before, and I think it just emphasises what a great event it is because you’ve got top players going against each other in the very first match.
“The following evening, when we play against Greece with Tsitsipas and Sakkari, two players who have been in the top five in the world, we’ve got to be ready. We’ve got to be on our game, and I think that’s exciting.”
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Former British No 1’s shock verdict on why Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are better than the ‘Big 3’
Novak Djokovic has been quick to suggest the claims that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have taken tennis to the next level are not respecting the achievements of the three most successful male players of all-time, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has told Tennis365 that the new ‘Big 2’ are in a league of their own.
Djokovic hit back at reports that Alcaraz and Sinner were playing the game at a level above the one produced in an era he dominated alongside Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
That iconic trio won 66 Grand Slam titles between them, but some of the game’s greatest players have claimed the new dominant duo in men’s tennis are hitting the ball with more venom and consistency than the ‘Big 3’.
Now Rusedski has waded in on the debate, as he claimed every new era in the sport raises the bar of excellence, which is why Alcaraz and Sinner are already being hailed as all-time greats of the sport.
“Every generation goes to the next level and that’s what we are seeing with Alcaraz and Sinner,” said the 1997 US Open finalist told Tennis365, ahead of the launch of his new podcast, Off Court with Greg.
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“Sports science gets better, techniques gets better, racket technology improves and while we are saying Alcaraz and Sinner are playing tennis we have never seen before, that doesn’t mean the greats of the past would not also rise to this level if they had the same conditions to play in now.
“You look at my generation and we had Pete Sampras in there. He got to 14 Grand Slam titles to break the all-time record in the men’s game and everyone said that would never be beaten.
“Then all of a sudden, along comes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and they all won 20 and more Grand Slam titles. Throw Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka in that picture as well.
“That era had three of the all-time greats and everyone was saying what is going to happen when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are gone.
“Then Alcaraz and Sinner show up. Sometimes there is a one or two-year gap before new players start to dominate, but it has happened right away with these two.”
When Rusedski assesses why Alcaraz and Sinner have developed a stranglehold on the sport, he believes both have brought very different qualities to the game.
“Alacarz exploded out and starting winning right away, just like Rafael Nadal did,” he added. “He has been amazing for the sport and to already have six Grand Slam titles is an incredible number.
“Then you look at Sinner and the way he has used his skills as a skier to move around the court so effortlessly. I’ve never seen a player move like that before.
“You speak to other players and they say they just strike the ball so hard on both sides. Alex de Minaur said they strike it even harder than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“The Roland Garros final they played this year was one of the best matches we have ever seen, including anything we saw from the Federer, Nadal and Djokovic match-ups.
“That tells you we are looking at two players here who are playing at another level, but whether they ever win as many titles as the ‘Big 3’, that’s a very different debate.
“You have to respect the longevity and the achievements of Roger, Rafa and Novak. Their records will be very tough to beat.”
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