“I’m Just a Weird Guy,” Jack Draper Cheekily Reveals the Secret of His Left Handed Game

4 min read

Ask Rafael Nadal to write his name, brush his teeth, or throw a dart with his left hand, and you might see a disaster. But put a tennis racquet in his left hand, and you’ll get a forehand zinger! The Spaniard is naturally right-handed but plays lefty. He isn’t the only one to do so in tennis. Kimiko Date, Asia’s first big tennis star and a natural left-hander, trained herself to play right-handed and reached three Grand Slam semifinals. Now, the latest name on this list? Indian Wells champion Jack Draper. Find out more about his “weird” playstyle.

The Briton is a natural right-hander but plays tennis with his left. His decision to switch came early in his development as a young athlete. Leading with his left side gave him a tactical advantage, allowing him to create sharper angles and throw opponents off balance. That left hand proved lethal in Indian Wells, where he crushed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 to win his first Masters 1000 title.

The 23-year-old tennis star’s lefty serve was a key weapon in the final. He fired 10 aces, won 21 of his 23 first-serve points, and never gave Rune a break-point chance. But how did he end up playing with his non-dominant hand? Draper recently explained the unusual choice in a Tennis TV interview. “It’s an advantage. A lot of people ask me how did that happen or that’s really strange, and my answer is just that I am a weird guy.”

He’s just a weird guy.

@jackdraper0 pic.twitter.com/8w3TN4YWtk

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 20, 2025

He had also shared the same thoughts with Vogue earlier. “I’m a bit odd,” Draper admitted. “I throw right-handed, I write right-handed, golf right, everything. I don’t know where that comes from.”

Jack Draper became the first Brit to win Indian Wells since Cameron Norrie, who is naturally left-handed, did it in 2021. Now, the Indian Wells champion has set his sights on the Miami Open, aiming to complete the rare Sunshine Double.

Jack Draper eyes the Sunshine Double at the Miami Open

Only seven men have ever won both Indian Wells and Miami in the same year. Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer (three times), and Novak Djokovic (four times) make up that exclusive club. Jack Draper has a chance to add his name to that list after his Indian Wells breakthrough.

So, who stands in his way? As the sixth seed, Draper gets a bye into the second round in Miami, where he will face the winner of Roberto Bautista Agut and rising Czech star Jakub Mensik. If the seeds hold, he could run into Rune again in the fourth round. The quarterfinals could bring top seed Alexander Zverev, a former Miami finalist who has been struggling for form lately.

There are a lot of amazing players in this draw,” Draper told Sky Sports. “Winning [at Indian Wells] makes me believe, I feel like I can beat anyone. At the same time, there are a lot of matches in front of me, starting with the first one against a really tough player. I believe in myself, but there is a long way to go.” He is no stranger to tough draws, Just look at what he battled at the Indian Wells. He beat Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, and Holger Rune en route to his first-ever ATP Masters 1000 title triumph. His Indian Wells victory proved he belongs with the best. Can Jack Draper back it up in Miami? What do you think?

 

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