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In a post-Andy Murray era of British tennis, many thought Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper would fly the flag for GB. Raducanu burst onto the scene in 2021 when she reached the second week of Wimbledon as a teenage wildcard ranked outside the top 300. A few weeks later, she made history by becoming the first – and so far only – qualifier to win a Grand Slam title, winning 10 matches in a row to be crowned the US Open champion.
Draper, meanwhile, has already lifted three career titles, including one at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, often dubbed the ‘fifth Grand Slam’. He peaked at No. 4 in the world last summer, and already has wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. But both have been dogged by injuries and physical setbacks throughout their careers, and neither has played in months.
Raducanu has been sidelined by a leg injury since June, while Draper has spent 18 months battling a bone bruising injury in his left arm and has not played a match since August. However, British tennis remains in a strong position, with four men and four women in the top 100 of the ATP and WTA rankings this week.
And tennis fans have also been impressed by other stars, declaring that neither Raducanu nor Draper was the nation’s best tennis player right now. Even British No. 1 Katie Boulter, who recently reached the semi-finals of the WTA 250 event in Osaka, has not been picked as the best Brit.
Instead, 27 per cent of Express Sport readers declared that Arthur Fery is currently the best British tennis player. The SW19 local stormed into the Wimbledon semi-finals this year as a wildcard ranked outside the top 100.
He’s since backed it up, reaching a maiden ATP Tour final in Winston-Salem. And Fery reached a career-high ranking of No. 32 this week after reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event in Vienna, upsetting Lorenzo Musetti en route, before he was ousted by new world No. 1 Alexander Zverev.
Sonay Kartal came in a close second place, with 25 per cent of the vote. The Brighton-based star spent six months sidelined by a back injury this year and dropped to No. 170 in the world. But she made a triumphant return during the Asian swing, storming into the final of the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan last month and losing to Maja Chwalinska. Kartal has since returned to the top 60.
Despite ending his 2026 season early and going 8-7 in matches this year, Draper came in third place with 21 per cent of the votes. Raducanu, who finished runner-up at Queen’s in June before she was sidelined by a shin injury, got 16 per cent of the votes, and Boulter got six per cent.
Five per cent of fans voted for other players. That includes Harriet Dart, who won a maiden WTA Tour title at last week’s Guangzhou Open as a qualifier. Dart has re-entered the world’s top 100 after beating fourth seed Lilli Tagger 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Sunday’s final.
It also includes Cameron Norrie, the former world No. 8, who currently sits at No. 45. Last week, Norrie pushed Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Vienna Open but blew a match point and went on to lose in a five-set tiebreak.
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