
Humble Wimbledon star Jack Draper still drives seven-year-old VW Polo despite earning millions in prize money
SET OF WHEELS Humble Wimbledon star Jack Draper still drives seven-year-old VW Polo despite earning millions in prize money
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
JACK DRAPER still drives the same old Polo car to training because he does not see the point of having a flashier vehicle in London, according to his pal Jack Pinnington Jones.
Jones's Wimbledon dreams were fuelled as a teenager during early-morning car journeys with Draper listening to UK rap on the stereo.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
5
Jack Draper drives the same VW Polo he had when he was a teenager
Credit: PA
5
Draper used to drive mate Jack Pinnington Jones to training
Credit: EPA
5
Humble star Draper would listen to rap music to get him in the mood for playing
Credit: Swansway Motor Group
The 22-year-old – who lost to Italian Flavio Cobolli in round two today – recently turned professional, having quit his studies at Texas Christian University.
The Surrey star, who has earned so far £99,000 in prize money, had long dreamt of this position, particularly on those sunrise motor trips with Draper.
They would travel together to Roehampton's National Tennis Centre before dawn in the winter months and before the school rush, put on the tunes and talk rubbish.
The funny thing is that Draper, who has pocked career earnings of £5.9million, still drives around in the same Polo car and refuses to trade up for a bigger, better and more expensive model.
READ MORE IN WIMBLEDON
BREAK UP POINT Tennis power couple 'split up' after both lose in first round of Wimbledon
Jones, the world No.281, said: 'I'd probably practise at maybe 10-11am. We'd be driving through Cobham (in Surrey).
'The traffic is just a nightmare if you go any later with the school run.
'So, Jack would say: 'Right, I'm going to be there at 6.30am. You're either there or you're not.' I'd be half asleep every time.
'It'd take 20 minutes on the roads because no-one else is awake. You'll have to wait till 8am for breakfast. It's just us sitting there at the NTC.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS
5
Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19
'Music-wise, it'd be UK rap at the beginning of the week. If it's the end of the week, something probably more chilled.
'I was about 15 or 16. I didn't have a licence. Jack has the same car now. This little Polo.
'He treats it awfully. He's like: 'I don't need a nice car in London, I'm going to ding it anyway.'
'It's the same car he got when he first passed. He loves it. He has some boxing gloves in the wing mirror.'
The two Jacks are very close pals and Draper reckons Jones has the makings one day of becoming a top-100 player.
The decision to leave college, forego his degree and go pro was 'a big decision' and tennis is 'obviously now a job'.
British No.11 Jones, who hails from Kingston, plays golf to a reasonable level and was hitting balls at Andy Murray's club the other day.
He is probably one of the guys that took the mickey out of Draper for his attempts at shaving off his stubble before his first-round win over Sebastian Baez.
Indeed, Draper – who now plays former US Open champion Marin Cilic this afternoon – is hoping the only close shaves this Wimbledon fortnight will be on his legs.
And Britain's tennis hero has told fans to expect plenty of different hairstyles throughout his career – because it is a chance for him to experiment and rebel.
Draper, 23, said: 'Yeah, I shave my legs. I mean a lot of athletes do.
'It's because of the (resistance) band work we do between our legs.
'I'm fed up of ingrown hairs and getting slapped with the bands – it sort of hurts a lot. So, I get rid of the hairs.
'When I put the bands around my leg, it pulls on your hair and it rips them off. And it's the same with the massages as well.
'I mean it's not ideal but if I'm going to be in less pain, then it's worth it.'
Draper had blonde highlights done in his hair pre-tournament but will not be visiting the barbers until the event is over.
The British No.1 said: 'One thing you will see with me over the years is a lot of different hairstyles. A lot of different things.
'Because I'm very experimental with that sort of stuff. Do I get bored? Yeah.
'There will be a lot of different things. My brother doesn't like it but there will be a lot.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sonay Kartal shines in Wimbledon spotlight to clinch best grand slam result
Many British players have wilted under the Wimbledon spotlight but Sonay Kartal is revelling in it. The 23-year-old from Brighton roared into the fourth round after sweeping aside French qualifier Diane Parry. She is in the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time in her career after a sizzling 6-4 6-2 victory. When Jack Draper was knocked out by Marin Cilic on Thursday he admitted the expectation levels surrounding home players made him realise just how big two-time winner Andy Murray's achievements were. But laid-back Kartal is taking all the hype in her stride as she prepares for a crack at Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the quarter-finals. 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour,' she said. 'Obviously if you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things. 'I'm pretty calm and pretty collected. I don't think it's going to affect me too much. But no, I'm just enjoying it all. I'll still pretty young. It's my first fourth round. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging. 'I think the pressure that I'll feel is the pressure I will be putting on myself just wanting to perform as best as I can.' Kartal, ranked 298 this time last year, is on the cusp of the top 50 and could even finish the tournament as British number one, usurping Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter. She is the fourth unseeded British woman to reach the fourth round this century after Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Raducanu. Kartal has been shining on Court Three this week but on Friday she was first up on Court One, the scene of her defeat by Coco Gauff at the same stage last year. She made a nervous start, falling 4-1 behind, but then won the next nine games to move a set and 4-0 up on her way to a hugely impressive victory in an hour and 22 minutes. 'I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous walking out there,' she added. 'It's a big court with a match that has a lot of meaning to me. 'Obviously last year, that was also in the back of my mind, losing to Coco on the same court in the same round. 'I tried to take everything I learnt from that match and put it into play on the court, tried to relax as best as I could. 'When I got it level, I felt like I was pretty good. The nerves were gone. I just felt super comfortable out there.'


The Sun
9 minutes ago
- The Sun
Wimbledon 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Raducanu vs Sabalenka headlines, Alcaraz, Fritz and Norrie feature, Kartal THROUGH
WIMBLEDON is heading towards the business end at the All England Club. Emma Raducanu faces her toughest test yet as the British star takes on No1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Centre Court this evening. Before that, defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz features against Jan-Lennard Struff. Taylor Fritz, and Cameron Norrie are also in action, while Ben Shelton will finish his second round tie against Rinky Hijikata after it was suspended late last night. British star Sonay Kartal booked her spot in the fourth round with a win a 6-4 6-2 win over Diane Parry. WIMBLEDON 2025 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS Follow our live blog below... 30th Jun 2025, 08:25 By Connor Greaves When will play begin? The first matches of Wimbledon 2025 will get underway at 11am BST. Two Brits feature in the opening set of matches with Oliver Crawford facing Mattia Bellucci on Court 16 and Oliver Tarvet playing Leandro Riedi on Court 4. Centre Court action begins at 1.30pm BST as reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz goes head-to-head with Italian Fabio Fognini. By Connor Greaves Brit watch Here are all the timings for the key British names in action on opening day: Centre Court: Katie Boulter vs Paula Badosa - from 3.30pm Court One: Jacob Fearnley vs Joao Fonseca - from 3pm and Emma Raducanu vs Mimi Xu - from 4pm Court 3: Sonay Kartal vs Jelena Ostapenko - from 11am Court 4: Oliver Tarvet vs Leandro Riedi - from 11am and Henry Searle vs Ethan Quinn - from 3.30pm Court 12: Hannah Klugman vs Leylah Fernandez - from 3.30pm Court 15: Arthur Fery vs Alexei Popyrin and Billy Harris vs Dusan Lajovic - from 1pm Court 16: Oliver Crawford vs Mattia Bellucci - from 11am Court 17: Harriet Dart vs Dalma Galfi and Mika Stojsavljevic vs Ashlyn Krueger - from 3.30pm Court 18: Cameron Norrie vs Roberto Bautista Agut - from 12.30pm 30th Jun 2025, 08:05 By Connor Greaves Good morning and welcome to SunSport's live blog of Wimbledon! The iconic British tennis tournament gets underway today at the All England Club, and some huge names are in action! A whopping FOURTEEN Brits will begin their campaigns with the likes of Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie all competing in SW19 on opening day. Carlos Alcaraz headlines on Centre Court as he starts his bid for a third title against Italian Fabio Fognini. The likes of Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic will have to wait until Tuesday to get their tournaments underway. SunSport will bring you all the action from SW19 over the next 14 days right here.


Scottish Sun
9 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘I don't get it' – Wimbledon fans left baffled by BBC scoreboard ‘glitch' as they all notice the same thing
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EAGLE-EYED Wimbledon fans were left baffled by a BBC scoreboard 'glitch'. The All England Club made a subtle change to the broadcast feed for the 2025 Championships. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Polina Kudermetova had her name shortened on the Wimbledon scoreboard Credit: BBC 3 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's 14-letter surname was not trimmed down Credit: BBC For the first time, TV viewers can now see the scorelines in the previous sets - rather than just the score in sets. For example, if a men's match is in the fifth set, rather than simply showing 2-2, it would show who won each set and by what score. There is also the players' seeds where applicable on the scoreboard plus a border around the new-look style. However, fans spotted a strange quirk - and a lack of consistency. READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON MAD MINUTE Wimbledon star wins in just 70 SECONDS before issuing apology to fans Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova faced Naomi Osaka in round three and her full, 14-letter surname was squeezed into the box in the top corner of the screen. However, they pointed out that when Polina Kudermetova faced Iga Swiatek in the first round, her name was cut short. Admittedly there are two Kudermetovas in the women's draw with her sister Veronika as well. But instead of the 11 letters of her surname following the P initial and a space, a total of 13 characters, Wimbledon cut it short. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS So it read "P. Kudermeto" - leaving off the "va" at the end. One keen fan wrote: "I don't get it, they can fit Pavlyuchenkova on the scoreboard but not Kudermetova???" BBC commentator slams Frances Tiafoe after lengthy toilet break during Wimbledon match vs Cam Norrie Another replied: "Pavlyuchenkova is 14 letters. P. Kudermetova is 12 letters, add the period and space and it is 14." A third added: "Yes was wondering the same." A fourth pointed out: "Shapovalov it's only 10 and they shorten it to Shapovalo." A fifth commented: "The worst one so far is BASILASHVIL where they just left out an "I" for absolutely no reason (plenty of space available)." And tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg joked: "One could write a sociolinguistics dissertation about the way Wimbledon haphazardly shortens surnames on the scoreboard." 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19