Car journeys, rap music & pre-match messages: Friends Jack Draper & Jack Pinnington Jones enjoying winning starts at Wimbledon
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10 British players made it through to the second round of the singles draws at Wimbledon this year – the joint most since 1976.
Among them were two players of a similar age, same first name but with very different tennis journeys to one another.
Jack Draper came into Wimbledon as the fourth seed this year and showed his quality in his opening round win against Sebastian Baez, despite the Argentinian retiring in the third set.
At 23, Draper has been on the tour for four years now, having made his ATP debut at The Queen’s Club in 2021 with a win over now world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
He’s since gone on to win three ATP titles – including the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells – made the semi-finals at the US Open and broken into the world’s top five. During that time, he graduated from the LTA Pro Scholarships Programme, presented by Lexus before moving on to the Elite programme for the top British players.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 22-year-old Jack Pinnington Jones picked up his first Wimbledon and Grand Slam main draw win after knocking out former world No.27 Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Pinnington Jones opted for a different path to his tennis career, choosing at a young age to pursue a journey developing his game in the US college system competing in the NCAA with Texas Christian University (TCU) – supported by the LTA NCAA Programme.
The pair know each other very well and have been friends since their teens – regularly enjoying early morning road trips together coming in to train at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Roehampton.
I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good run this week or at the end of the day will finish the year with a high ranking.
“Jack is a really good friend of mine, to be honest,” Draper said. “We live pretty close to each other. First time, sort of met him 2019, spent a lot of time around him, at his house chilling. We're really good friends.
“We always argued about it because it was like, he'd be hitting at 11, I'd be hitting at 9:30. He loved coming with me. We'd have a laugh in the car. We'd be talking rubbish all morning.”
Looking back at those early rises to get to training, Pinnington Jones added: “He would say, right, I'm going to be there at 6:30. You're either there or you're not. I'd be half asleep every time.
“We’d just be sitting there at the NTC, and in the car I'd usually get aux. It would be UK rap or depending on the mood, something like that.
“It's the same car he has now, like this little Polo. He's like, I don't need a nice car in London, I'm going to ding it anyway. He loves it.”
Over the years they’ve developed a friendship beyond the tennis court – even during Pinnington Jones’ time away in the States at college.
Draper says he could always see his countryman’s talent from a young age and his victory on day two at The Championships came as no surprise.
Pinnington Jones’ path follows one that many Brits are now choosing to take, with the likes of Cam Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and fellow first round winners Arthur Fery and Oliver Tarvet, coming through the US college system.
“It's really exciting for British tennis because there's a lot of these players sort of coming out of uni who have the level,” Draper said. “They just need more time. They're going to be coming onto the tour. Jack is one of those.
“He's somebody who is incredibly talented. He's, for sure, in my opinion, going to be a top 100 player. Like we've seen with Jacob, I'm sure Jack is going to be on his way as well to that because he's that good, honestly.
“I'm really proud of him, for sure. Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good run this week or at the end of the day will finish the year with a high ranking.”
For players like Pinnington Jones, having a player like Draper, who is competing with the likes of Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of the top names in the sport acts as a source of inspiration.
Having spent time around him on and off the court at the NTC, the rising British stars get to experience what it takes to reach that level and what they can do to get the best out of themselves.
“Jack has been great to me,” Pinnington Jones said. “He's always looking out for me. I just saw him after the match. He came up, congratulated me.
“He sent me a text just before I went on saying, ‘You're ready for this, go and embrace it’, stuff like that. It just means a lot he's there supporting me. He's one of my best friends.
“I've seen how the British top 100 players train, how they play. I know their level just from hitting with them a lot.
“I would say the top 100 guys are so disciplined from whenever I played the futures or challenger level. Sometimes you get some loose games, some tap-outs. I feel like the guys here are dialled in, doing everything right with the physios, taking care of their bodies, 100% locked in. I would say that's the biggest thing. They concentrate a little bit longer.
“Maybe one day I can get up, maybe not where he (Draper) is, but where we are playing the same tournaments.”
Draper and Pinnington Jones will be in second round action on Thursday. Draper takes on former US Open champion Marin Cilic while Pinnington Jones plays 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli.
Follow the latest from the British tennis stars at Wimbledon
