Jack Draper Reacts to Emma Raducanu Partnering With Carlos Alcaraz

Jack Draper offered wise words when asked about Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz teaming up for mixed doubles.

Jack Draper does not blame Emma Raducanu for teaming up with Carlos Alcaraz. / IMAGO/IPS

On Tuesday, there were mixed reactions among tennis fans when the initial 16 teams for the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship were announced online.

The partnership that received the most headlines was ATP World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and WTA No. 36 Emma Raducanu. Some fans were excited about the pairing, while others wanted Raducanu to partner with fellow British star, ATP No. 6 Jack Draper.

After winning his first match at the HSBC Championships on Tuesday, Draper was asked why the two top-ranked British players did not team up. The 23-year-old answered the tough question by offering a bit of wisdom.

🗣️ "A wise person once told me to find the best partner and that's exactly what she did in Alcaraz"

Jack Draper on Raducanu teaming up with Alcaraz for the US Open mixed doubles 🤝#HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/36GX7nKjLs

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 18, 2025

"Yeah, I mean, a wise person once told me you should find the best partner, and that's what she did in Alcaraz. I don't blame her at all for that," said Draper.

"Yeah, I think she will have a lot of fun playing with Carlos. He's obviously the best player in the world, probably right now, along with [Jannik] Sinner. Great at doubles, as well. Saw that with Rafa [Nadal] at the Olympics. She's gone about and chose the best partner, for sure. Hopefully, they do well.

As always, Draper handled the question well. Plus, he gets to look forward to playing alongside Qinwen Zheng. The WTA No. 4 is just as competitive as Draper and will surely take the competition very seriously.

The duo we didn't know we needed 🤝

Carlos Alcaraz spoke on his upcoming partnership with Emma Raducanu at #USOpen 2025 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/NyFSOxB2Qr

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 17, 2025

Yesterday, Alcaraz shared the story of how his partnership with Raducanu came together. "The tournament told us about the mixed tournament, and I was thinking it couldn't be better than Emma. I asked Emma if she wanted to play doubles with me, and yeah, I made that special request."

Alcaraz's story also included funny details about Raducanu's initial hesistation before committing to playing in the event. However, the ATP No. 2 assured the media that Raducanu will be the "boss" of their team.

The 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship kicks off on August 19 at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

In the meantime, Alcaraz, Raducanu, and Draper will continue their grass court season throughout this month and next. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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