United Cup: Great Britain captain Tim Henman praises Emma Raducanu, backs Jack Draper to be fit for Perth

British tennis great Tim Henman believes young gun Emma Raducanu will soon cement herself in the top 20, declaring the 23-year-old better mentally prepared now than her remarkable US Open triumph in 2021. Henman also backed men’s world no.10 Jack Draper to arrive in Perth fit for the United Cup despite a serious arm injury limiting him to just one match since Wimbledon amid a pair of recent tournament withdrawals. A former world no.4 and six-time grand slam semifinalist, Henman will captain a Great Britain team who will face Japan and Greece in group E. It means a blockbuster clash against multiple major winner Naomi Osaka and ex-world no.3 Maria Sakkari for Raducanu, while Draper will lock horns with dual grand slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. Raducanu famously shot onto the tennis scene when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier four years ago but did not immediately continue her upward trajectory. After starting 2022 ranked 10th in the world, she ended 2023 at no.285, before bouncing back to just outside the top 50 the following year and finishing up the 2025 season 29th in the world. “What happened nearly five years ago at the US Open was so extraordinary, it’s almost set the bar a little bit too high at times for other people’s expectations,” Henman said. “If you were to take that out of the equation and just reflect on the progress she’s made in the last year, to finish in the top 30 was a really solid year. “There’s so much more Emma can build on and with (coach) Francisco Roig and her team, she’s built a lot more physical resilience, because in the past her body was breaking down and she couldn’t build any momentum on the tour. “I look forward to her building on the progress that she’s made, and there’s no reason why she can’t be in the top 20 pretty soon in 2026.” Henman once wore the pressure of being the British no.1 like the now 23-year-old, and he said Raducanu had matured well enough to now deal with the spotlight. “There’s no doubt with what she achieved in New York when she was 18, it shone the spotlight extremely brightly on her and on a personal level, she was having to mature and grow up very quickly in a hugely intense media spotlight,” he said. “There’s no doubt Emma, in those first couple of years, did find it very difficult with the attention, but now she is four years older, she’s wiser, she’s more experienced, she’s developed physically and mentally. “You’d never want to take away what she achieved in New York, because it was absolutely phenomenal, but now she has a much better understanding and clarity of what she is trying to do with building her game on the practice court, in the gym. “She’s in a much better position going into 2026 to have even better results.” Raducanu’s compatriot Draper rose to fourth in the world ahead of Wimbledon, but has played just one match since then — a first- round victory at the US Open, swiftly followed by a withdrawal from his second-round match due to a serious arm injury. In recent weeks, Draper has pulled out of two exhibition tournaments, but Henman was confident he would be ready for their first tie on January 4, having watched him train recently. “I was on the practice court with him when he was practising with Ollie Tarvet, and his game is looking very good,” he said. “He’s still building up in certain areas, but he’s hitting the ball well, and he’s obviously highly motivated to get back out there. “He’s had a really difficult time not being able to compete, so fingers crossed he can stay on track. “I would reflect that when you’ve missed six months of tennis, it takes you time to build up and get back that match toughness. “He, first and foremost, will need to be patient, give himself time to build things up. But once he’s fit and healthy, then I’m sure we can expect big things from Jack.”