Henman on the injury progress of Draper and Raducanu: "They are moving in the right direction"
In early January 2026, Australia will host the fourth edition of the United Cup. This mixed team competition is gaining popularity among the world's top players to fine-tune their preparation.
This year, Great Britain will rely on Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu. The two British players, injured at the end of the 2025 season, have withdrawn from the exhibitions they were scheduled to participate in December.
Draper is recovering from a left arm injury that sidelined him for the entire end of the season after the US Open. As for Raducanu, she chose to end her year in October due to a back issue.
"We are all aware of the matches ahead of us"
Registered to participate in the United Cup, both players will need to regain their rhythm very quickly, as matches against Japan and Greece are on the schedule. Captain Tim Henman commented on the fitness of his two compatriots.
"They are moving in the right direction. Obviously, Jack (Draper) went through a very tough period... he is rebuilding himself. He now has Jamie Delgado by his side. So he has great experience.
He just needs to keep working day after day to rebuild himself to be ready to return to the court. The same goes for Emma (Raducanu), who spent some time in Spain with Francisco Roig.
She is once again making sure she puts in the necessary effort to be ready to start in Perth, because we are all aware of the matches ahead of us," Henman assured, before discussing the group stage matches against Japan and Greece.
"I am convinced we have a good chance of advancing to the next round"
"We first play against Japan, and I think all eyes are on Raducanu and Osaka. They are both US Open champions. They both love hard courts.
They have faced each other before, and I think this only highlights the importance of this event, as the top players compete from the very first match.
The following evening, when we face Greece with Tsitsipas and Sakkari, two players who have been among the world's top five, we will need to be ready. We will need to be at our best, and I find that exciting. When you look at our ranking on paper, I think we have a very, very strong team, and that's what excites me.
It's always hard to predict what will happen, because the team's strength and depth are excellent. So we will do a good job, aiming to control what we can control, which is preparation and performance, and if we achieve that, I am convinced we have a good chance of advancing to the next round," concluded Henman for the official United Cup website.
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