In her latest column, former British tennis player Laura Robson shares her insights on Jack Draper`s potential for success at Wimbledon, the wide-open nature of the women`s tournament, and her daily experiences as the tournament director for the new women`s event at Queen`s Club.
Draper has been the standout British player recently, securing his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and reaching the final on clay at the Madrid Open.
He achieved his best-ever French Open result by reaching the fourth round before being defeated by an in-form Alexander Bublik.
Despite the loss, Draper, along with Jacob Fearnley, Katie Boulter, and Sonay Kartal, earned their first wins at Roland-Garros. Cameron Norrie also had a positive run to the third round, a welcome result after a challenging period, while Emma Raducanu faced a tough draw against four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the second round.
This collective performance marked a significant improvement compared to last year`s French Open, where most British players exited in the first round. Now, attention turns to the grass season and the start of the third Grand Slam of the year at the All-England Club on June 30.
“I don`t know who the favourite is for the women`s Wimbledon event. I would probably lean towards [Aryna] Sabalenka because she has performed well there in the past. For Coco [Gauff], grass hasn`t yielded the same level of results as other Slams,” Robson commented from her office at Queen`s Club, where she is overseeing the new WTA 500 tournament.
“Even though Gauff has reached the fourth round three times, she hasn`t had a truly breakthrough result on grass, in my opinion. So, I think this makes the field quite open for new contenders to emerge.”
“Our second seed here this week is Mady [Madison] Keys, and I often think about what might have happened last year had she not withdrawn with an injury in the fourth round at Wimbledon. There`s definitely an opportunity for many different players.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the world`s top two players, contested their first Grand Slam final at the French Open, which was a classic match. However, British hopes will largely rest on the shoulders of British No 1, Jack Draper.
Robson recalled, “Tim [Henman] and I were joking about this in Paris. At the end of last year, Overs [Jonathan Overend] said we`d have a Brit in the Wimbledon final, and we just laughed it off. But now Jack is ranked number four in the world, and we`re thinking, `Oh, we`re closer than we thought!`”
“To have that potential on the men`s side, alongside Alcaraz and Sinner, is quite special. It`s great to have British storylines involved even before the tournament begins.”
Robson: My Queen`s Experience
Before her appointment as tournament director at the new women`s event at Queen`s Club in November, Robson held the same role for the Nottingham Open in 2023 and 2024.
Taking on the director role at Queen`s has been an insightful experience for the 31-year-old, a former junior Wimbledon champion.
“I`ve been here for a week already, arriving straight from Paris last Monday. It felt like a quick transition because we were still in the construction phase at that point,” Robson explained.
“It has demanded hard work, but I genuinely enjoy it. When I arrived on Wednesday morning, it was very much a building site, but by the end of the day, I could see areas like the player lounge taking shape and different spaces coming to life. That`s been very rewarding, even though our event manager handles most of the hard work while I do the observing!”
“Simply being in my office and watching everything come together has been really satisfying. Now that the tournament has started, a large part of my day is dedicated to scheduling, collaborating with broadcasters, planning the schedule for the week, ensuring player requests are considered, and ultimately aiming to create the best order of play for everyone involved.”
Robson is optimistic about attracting a new audience to the women`s tournament at Queen`s, where there`s hope for British success.
“The feedback has been very positive, and rightly so. This is a world-class men`s event, and now it`s a world-class women`s event too, offering the same excellent facilities for both players and the public,” she said.
“Ticket pricing is slightly more accessible, and we hope this encourages a different audience to come to Queen`s.”
“We want people to attend and experience live sport, perhaps for the first time. We`ve had strong ticket sales, and we are sold out from Friday onwards. I walked around the grounds earlier when the gates opened and saw people entering for the first time. It was a really cool moment!”
“My hope is for no rain and no injuries. You want to see the highest level of tennis so fans have a great experience and are encouraged to return next year.”
