After reaching that final, Draper reached a career-high ranking and was backed to go even further.

In a bid to preserve his body that has previously struggled with injuries, Draper withdrew from the Dubai Tennis Championships and set his sights on Indian Wells.

The Brit made his Indian Wells debut two years ago, where Draper played Andy Murray in their only ever official ATP match.

Draper now returns to the Californian Masters 1000 tournament as a seeded player for the first time in his career.

Jack Draper says what will happen to Jannik Sinner when he returns

Ahead of his tournament getting underway at Indian Wells, Draper spoke to the media about his goals and was also asked about world number one Sinner.

Sinner has been banned for three months after settling an appeal with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), following testing positive for the banned substance clostebol that actually occurred at Indian Wells last year.

This decision has split opinion, but Draper has previously been supportive of Sinner and continued this sentiment when speaking to Sky Sports at Indian Wells.

In this interview, Draper backed Sinner to return to the ATP Tour in the same vein that he left it after winning his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

“One thing about Jannik is that he will definitely come back stronger. Obviously this period and last year has been very difficult for him, and I always try and send him my support and I tell him that I’m very inspired by him and all the things he’s achieving in the game.

“His work ethic, the way he carries himself on and off the court I think is very, very impressive and yeah I think he’s just a very honest genuine kind guy. I think he deserves all the success he is getting and I look forward to seeing him back on the tour.”

Sinner can return to tennis from May 4 for the Italian Open, which has had some big news of its own in recent weeks.

Jack Draper’s potential run to the Indian Wells title

Draper could be an Indian Wells dark horse, but faces a potentially very tricky opener at the Masters 1000 tournament this year.

After receiving a bye as the 13th seed, Draper will play either his rising compatriot Jacob Fearnley or teenage sensation Joao Fonseca.

If he is able to come through his second round match, it will not get much easier for Draper as he could play Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has had a great 2025 so far.

Not only would that be a tough match for the 23-year-old, but it could also bring back past drama after Draper and Auger-Aliassime were involved in controversy last year.

Draper will play his first match at Indian Wells against either Fonseca or Fearnley on Saturday March 8.