Debuting new hairdo, Jack Draper kicks off ATP comeback with Dubai victory

New year, new look, same Jack.

Sporting a new hairstyle, Jack Draper made a winning return to ATP tournament play at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, scoring a 7-6 (8), 6-3 win over Quentin Halys on Monday.

The former world No. 4 is down to No. 15 in the rankings after shutting down his 2025 season at the US Open, and skipped the 2026 Australian Open due to bone bruising in his left arm.

“I’ve had this injury for a long time. I’m at the very very end stages of the rehab\] process, and to step back on court back into five-set tennis so soon just doesn’t seem like the smart decision for me and my tennis,” [Draper said back in December.

Draper tested the waters of a comeback in Davis Cup qualifying, scoring a straightforward win over No. 313-ranked Viktor Durasovic of Norway, and built on that momentum against Halys on Center Court for his first main-draw victory since August.

Before taking the court, though, images circulated of Draper’s shocking new haircut, one that echoed the buzz job Carlos Alcaraz sported en route to winning the 2025 US Open.

“Bro looks like your character before you customize it,” joked one fan on Reddit.

Draper was looking to blend on-court success with off-court style prior to his injury, having captured his first Masters 1000 title last March at the BNP Paribas Open. Runner-up at the Mutua Madrid Open on clay two months later, Draper came to Wimbledon aiming for a career-best run at his home Slam, but was already struggling with injury in his second-round defeat to Marin Cilic and played just one more match in 2025.

In any rehab process, there's always, you know, there's good days and then there's bad days. There's days where you're, like, really pumped because you think you're on a good path, and then there's days where you have setbacks and you think, 'oh, I might not be able to do it.' Jack Draper

“In any rehab process, there's always, you know, there's good days and then there's bad days,” Draper explained at the US Open. “There's days where you're, like, really pumped because you think you're on a good path, and then there's days where you have setbacks and you think, 'Oh, I might not be able to do it.'”

Against Halys, the 24-year-old lefty saved three set points in the first set and claimed the lone break of the second to serve his way to straight-sets victory, booking the fourth seed a second-round clash against either Fabian Marozsan or Arthur Rinderknech.