Why Jack Draper’s ATP Award Nomination is a Slap in the Face to Tennis Fans
Another year, another round of ATP awards that make you question if the decision-makers are actually watching the same sport as the rest of us. The nominations for the 2025 ATP Breakthrough Player of the Year are in, and while a few names make sense, one, in particular, has fans rightfully scratching their heads and flooding social media with a collective, “Wait, what?” That name is Jack Draper.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t an attack on Draper himself. The guy can play. But his inclusion in a “breakthrough” category for 2025 feels like a joke that nobody’s laughing at. The British player already had his coming-out party in 2024, firmly establishing himself as a top-tier threat. Nominating him feels less like a recognition of a newfound star and more like the ATP forgot to update their notes from last year.
Meanwhile, a genuinely deserving candidate, American teenager Learner Tien, was left out in the cold. It’s a snub so baffling, so utterly nonsensical, that it’s hard not to get a little cynical about the whole process.
Who Even Decides These Things? A Look at the Nominees
The ATP rolled out four names for this year’s award: Jack Draper, João Fonseca, Valentin Vacherot, and Jakub Mensik. On the surface, it’s a list of young talent. But when you dig just a little deeper, the cracks start to show.
Fonseca, the Brazilian phenom, snagged two titles. Mensik had a fairytale run to win the Miami Open, toppling Novak Djokovic along the way. Vacherot literally made history as the lowest-ranked player to ever win a Masters 1000 title. These are the kinds of stories that define a breakthrough year.
And then there’s Jack Draper.
Draper is currently ranked in the top 10. He won Indian Wells and made the Madrid Open final. He’s an elite player. But that’s the point—he was already elite. His “breakthrough” was last season when he catapulted up the rankings and put everyone on notice. Putting him on this list feels like nominating a seasoned Oscar winner for “Best Newcomer.” It just doesn’t compute, and fans were quick to call it out.
One fan on X (formerly Twitter) summed it up perfectly: “Why is Jack Draper even here lol his breakthrough season was 2024.” Another pointed out the absurdity of it all, saying, “Jack Draper, son of former LTA CEO who turns 24 in December finished 2024 season ranked 15, this year he finished ranked 10, he’s been nominated for the breakthrough of the year, ahead of 19 year old Learner Tien who jumped around 100 ranking places. Make of that what you will.”
The sentiment is clear: Draper’s inclusion is not just confusing, it feels disrespectful to the players who genuinely burst onto the scene this year.
The Outrageous Snub of Learner Tien
This brings us to the biggest blunder of all: the complete omission of Learner Tien. The 19-year-old American had the kind of season that “Breakthrough Player of the Year” was made for. He started 2025 ranked 122nd and rocketed his way to 28th in the world. That’s a jump of nearly 100 spots, for crying out loud.
How did he do it? By winning his first ATP Tour title in Metz, reaching the final of the China Open, and delivering a massive upset against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. This wasn’t a gradual climb; it was a vertical explosion onto the main stage. He went from a promising “one to watch” to a legitimate contender who can hang with the best.
Ignoring this kind of monumental leap in favor of an already-established top-10 player like Draper feels lazy at best and wildly out of touch at worst. Fans are furious, with one posting, “I’m not even one of his shooters but there’s really no way to explain Tien being left off of here. Insane snub tbh.” Another was even more direct: “This is absolutely ridiculous. Someone should get fired for this.”
It’s hard to argue with their passion. The ATP had a golden opportunity to celebrate a true underdog story—a young American player making his mark—and they completely fumbled it. Tien embodies what a breakthrough is all about, and leaving him off the list makes the entire award feel hollow. It’s a bad look, and one that suggests the ATP might be more interested in familiar names than in recognizing genuine, explosive growth.
