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Tennis often seems to be a vibrant sport with millions of dollars in prize money and cheers. However, beneath the bright lights and crowded stadiums lies a grim reality that British No. 1 Jack Draper is all too familiar with. Following the sudden end of his 2025 season due to an arm injury, Draper made the decision to reveal the true nature of life on the ATP Tour. As excitement builds over who will claim the world No. 1 spot between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper wants fans to look deeper at what it truly takes to stay on top. Speaking on “The Tennis podcast” with Catherine, David, and Matt, Draper shared, “The ATP will always say you can pick and choose your tournaments, you can do this, you can do that,” before adding, “that’s not the whole truth.” Building on his point, Draper further explained, “That’s a naive approach, because you have to understand the mindset of a player, and the mindset is you want to keep on going in the rankings. The numbers behind his words justify it. As per the 2025 ATP rulebook, the bonus pool for the Masters 1000 events and the Nitto ATP Finals totals $21,012,500, with full bonuses requiring participation in all mandatory Masters 1000 tournaments. ADVERTISEMENT Draper didn’t stop there. He pointed out how the system itself pushes players to the edge. “The way the ATP is structuring things…the punishment if you don’t go and play all the M1000s, it’s like this year, Jannik and Carlos will have the heads of the bonus pool…but because they’ve missed three events, they’re going to pretty much lose out on all of it apart from their performance bonus….” He’s right. Miss one event, and you lose 25 percent of the bonus. Miss two, it’s 50 percent. Miss three, and you lose 75 percent. The penalty is steep, leaving little room for rest or recovery. ADVERTISEMENT Draper also cited the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia as a stark contrast. The event’s total prize pool was $13.5 million, with each of the six players guaranteed US$1.5 million just for showing up. The winner could take home a total of $6 million. “It’s like they’ll make more money in one night of work than a whole year of work playing the Saudi event,” Draper said. So, hate it or love it, Jack Draper is telling the truth. But it is not just the rules that are strict; they are facing other challenges as well. ADVERTISEMENT Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports Jack Draper exposes another tough reality Jack Draper has been vocal about the physical strain of the hectic tennis schedule. He thinks that because of the season’s abundance of tournaments, slower courts, softer balls, and new racket technology, matches are getting longer and more physically demanding for players. According to Draper, “Tennis is a sport where the players are the prize asset, and there’s nowhere near good enough communication between the grand slams, the ATP, the WTA, the ITF.” He then explained, “Everyone works separately to each other and that’s why I believe the sport is not the best sport it could be.” Draper’s worries are not theoretical. ADVERTISEMENT He’s witnessed rising stars like Holger Rune sustain significant injuries on their pursuit of ranking points, and he said it reinforced his call for the tour to adjust to the physical demands of today’s tennis. At the same time, he talks about player transparency, that the drive isn’t motivated by greed, even though the top players make substantial sums of money. “We make a lot of money, I understand that.” He also said, “My granddad he worked in a supermarket for 50 years, and sometimes he looks at my prize money and he says, ‘Oh my God, what is this?’ So I completely understand that side of things.” He stresses that the players are seeking changes that would make life better for everyone on the tour, including the players at the lower end of the rankings who live off prize money to keep their careers going. ADVERTISEMENT To Draper, the answer is in collaboration and transparency. He feels that tennis can be made fairer and sustainable by enhancing communication among the governing bodies and paying attention to such important issues as the health of players, the distribution of prize money, and the duration of the season.
