In her latest Sky Sports column, Laura Robson discusses Jack Draper’s chances of glory at Wimbledon, why the women’s tournament is so wide open and her daily routine as tournament director at the new women’s event at Queen’s Club…

Draper has been leading the British challenge in recent months with a first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and then finishing as runner-up on the clay at the Madrid Open.

He got the furthest at the French Open before losing in the fourth round to an inspired Alexander Bublik.

Still, he got his first Roland-Garros wins under his belt, as did Jacob Fearnley, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, while Cameron Norrie enjoyed a much-needed run to the third round following a tough 18 months, while Emma Raducanu was unlucky to run into four-time winner Iga Swiatek in the second round.

It was all a vast improvement on last year’s first-round wipe-out in Paris, but now attention turns to grass and the start of the third Grand Slam of the year at the All-England Club on June 30.

“I don’t know who is favourite in the women’s Wimbledon event. I would probably say [Aryna] Sabalenka because she’s done well there in the past but for Coco [Gauff] it’s been a surface which hasn’t quite given her the results that the other Slams have,” Robson said from her office at Queen’s Club where she is tournament director for the new WTA 500 event.

“Even though Gauff has made the fourth round three times, there’s not been that standout result, I’d say, so I think that leaves it quite open for some new faces to come in.

“Our second seed here this week is Mady [Madison] Keys and I kind of think what would have happened last year had she not pulled up with an injury in the fourth round at Wimbledon so there’s definitely a chance for loads of different people.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the world’s top two players, contested their first Grand Slam final at the French Open – and it was an all-time classic but home hopes will rest heavily on British No 1 Draper.

Robson said: “Tim [Henman] and I were joking about this in Paris, that fact that at the end of the year, Overs [Jonathan Overend] said we’re going to have a Brit in the Wimbledon final and we laughed it off, but now Jack is up to number four in the world and we’re thinking, ‘Oh, we’re closer than we thought!’

“To have that on the men’s side, as well as Alcaraz and Sinner as well – it’s pretty special. It’s nice to have British storylines involved before the tournament even starts.”

Robson: My Queen’s experience

Robson was previously tournament director of the Nottingham Open in 2023 and 2024 before being appointed in the same role at the new women’s event at Queen’s Club in November.

And it’s been an eye-opening experience for the 31-year-old former junior Wimbledon champion.

“I’ve been here for a week already, so I got in straight from Paris last Monday. I would say it was a pretty quick transition because we were still in the building phase at that point,” explained Robson.

“It has been hard work, but I really enjoy it. On Wednesday when I arrived in the morning it was still very much a building site but by the end of that day when I left, I could see a player lounge come together and all these different areas come to life, so I think that’s been very rewarding even though our event manager does all the hard work and I do the watching!

“Just to sit where my office is and see it all come together has been really satisfying. I would say a lot of my day now that the tournament has started is spent on scheduling, working with the different broadcasters, pre-planning the schedule for the week, making sure player requests are heard and noted and equally trying to create the best order of play for all parties.”

Robson hopes to bring in a new audience for the women’s tournament where hopes of a British winner are high.

“Everyone has been really positive and with good reason because this is a world-class men’s event but it’s now a world-class women’s event so it’s all the same facilities for players and public,” she said.

“There’s slightly more accessible ticket pricing so we’re hoping to see a different audience here at Queen’s.

“We want people to come and experience live sport for the first time, so we’ve had really good numbers, and we’re sold out from Friday. I was walking around the grounds earlier when the gates opened, seeing people come in for the first time. It was really cool!

“I’m hoping for no rain and no injuries. You want the best level of tennis, so the fans have the best experience and they come back next year.”

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.