Jack Draper has claimed the biggest prize of his career with £431,000 for winning the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London.
The only Briton in the eight-man field in tennis, responding to T20 cricket, the 21-year-old Londoner drew only by wildcard.
But he lived up to the invitation by going through the three-day event undefeated, eventually defeating Holger Run in the final.
UTS is an abbreviated game format where each match consists of only eight-minute quarters, no second innings, narrowed nets and a DJ playing music to attract younger audiences to the sport.
In the semi-finals, Draper defeated two young stars of the men’s game, Casper Ruud, and then in the final, Roon, who finished his 2023 season on a high after being sidelined for most of the season due to injury.
“It’s a really fun event, they’ve done an amazing job,” said Draper, who plays under the nickname “The Power” after Phil Taylor, a darts player of the same name.
The format has no rules of player behavior, and in the semifinals, Andriy Rublev and Run broke out.
