For nearly a decade, Tim Henman carried the weight of British hopes on his shoulders at Wimbledon.
The tennis icon, who burst onto the scene by winning national junior singles and doubles titles in 1992 before turning professional at 18, was a mainstay in the latter rounds at the All England Club during the peak of his career.
Henman reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon on four occasions in his primeGettyBetween 1996 and 2004, Henman reached the semi-finals on four separate occasions, and had respectable runs to the last eight in four other years.
Despite ultimately falling short on the Grand Slam stage during his storied career, Henman was the face of British tennis throughout the 90s and noughties, and gave hope to Wimbledon fans every year through his infectious determination and sportsmanship.
Two decades later, and new stars have emerged to carry British hopes, on both the men’s and women’s side of the draw.
Jack Draper, the current British number one, has mounted a stunning rise in the last 12 months.
In the space of a year, he has reached the US Open semi-finals, secured a prestigious Indian Wells title and reached two other ATP Tour finals.
When Wimbledon begins on Monday, he will be the fourth seed in the draw.
But Draper, 23, is still a tournament novice.
He has made only three main-draw appearances at the Championships, winning two of his five matches and never going beyond the second round.
Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, Emma Raducanu will once again command the attention of the British public.
Having shot to fame by securing Grand Slam glory at the US Open as an 18-year-old back in 2021, she has been on the radar of casual and die-hard tennis fans alike ever since.
Raducanu will be looking to advance past the fourth-round for the first timeGetty Draper is also a Wimbledon novice, having won two games at SW19 so farGettySo far, 2025 has been favourable for the star, who is still just 22, as she has returned to the top of the British rankings.
Heading into Wimbledon, both Raducanu and Draper are at the top of their games, and that will no doubt come with added pressure to perform.
Pressure at SW19, of course, is something Henman knows all about.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, the British icon opened up about the challenges of playing at a home tournament, before offering his advice to Raducanu and Draper.
“At the end of the day, pressure is all self-inflicted,” Henman began.
“It’s the way that you deal with the noise that is around you and I think for me at Wimbledon, playing at home, I realised early on there were only two things that I could control and that was my preparation and my performance.
Henman has urged Draper and Raducanu to tune out the Wimbledon noiseGetty Henman was a mainstay in the latter rounds of the tournament for nearly a decadeGetty“What was being talked about on television, was written in the newspapers or was on the radio, I couldn’t control it and so I didn’t worry about it.
“I ended up doing a good job of just focusing on what I was doing, and add to that, grass was a good surface for me.
“I prepared well, I loved playing on Centre Court with the support that I had so that was an environment that I loved and if I could have played my whole career on one court, it would have been on Centre at Wimbledon.
“However, there are other players that don’t really thrive in those conditions and you see Australians that don’t play so well in Melbourne or French players that look intimidated, they look like they’re restricted playing at Roland-Garros.
“So I think the psychology behind it is really, really important and some people almost play better — I think I played a lot of my best tennis at Wimbledon, other players will be restricted.”
Henman then discussed how Raducanu and Draper can control the pressure this year.
“It’s that element of control the controllables, really make sure you’re focused on what you’re doing, don’t worry about some of the stuff that’s going on around you and enjoy it,” he continued.
“They’re going to have phenomenal support, they’re going to be playing on the show courts, I think it’s the biggest, best, most prestigious tournament in the world and it’s their home tournament.
Raducanu has already provided big moments at Wimbledon early in her careerGetty“So enjoy the process, give it your best shot and hopefully they can have some great results.”
With the pressure on their shoulders, Raducanu and Draper have both been handed tough draws at SW19.
The latter will start his tournament against Sebastian Baez, and will be confident of progression given that his Argentine opponent is a clay court specialist with only one Wimbledon win to his own name.
But Draper will soon face tougher tests should he move on, with Marin Cilic — one of only five Major champions in the draw — potentially waiting in round two.
DRAPER'S ROAD TO WIMBLEDON FINAL
Jack Draper is a genuine contender at Wimbledon, but has a tough run
Round one — Sebastian Baez
Round two — Marin Cilic
Round three — Alexander Bublik
Round four — Jakub Mensik
Quarter-finals — Novak Djokovic
Semi-finals — Jannik Sinner
Final — Carlos Alcaraz
The Brit could then face Alexander Bublik, who beat him at the French Open, if both make it to the third round.
Should Draper make the fourth round, he will already have matched his best Wimbledon finish. And to progress beyond that this year will certainly be a tough ask.
His scheduled opponent in the last 16 would be Jakub Mensik, a highly-rated Czech teenager who boasts one of the best serves in the game.
Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, could await in the quarter-finals.
Draper could face Djokovic if he embarks on a fairy tale run at SW19GettyBeyond him, in highly-speculative territory, top seed Jannik Sinner would likely meet Draper in the semis, with back-to-back defending champion Carlos Alcaraz the likely man awaiting him in the final on Centre Court.
Raducanu will have an equally perilous draw.
The World No. 38, who is battling a back issue, didn’t earn seeding for Wimbledon.
In the opening round, she faces a fellow Briton in 17-year-old Mimi Xu, and will be confident of securing a win. But the challenge will soon escalate.
RADUCANU'S WIMBLEDON DRAW
Raducanu has an equally tough test at Wimbledon this year
Round one — Mimi Xu
Round two — Marketa Vondrousova
Round three — Aryna Sabalenka
Either 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who was also victorious at the Berlin Open last week, or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler, who won the Nottingham Open last Sunday, await in the second round.
Should Raducanu progress to the third round, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka would likely be lying in wait.
Of course, to be the best, you have to beat the best.
Both of Britain’s top-ranked stars will know that they will have to knock off the biggest names if they are to embark on a fairy tale Wimbledon run and deliver the kind of hope that Henman himself was producing in his heyday.
Tim Henman spoke to talkSPORT as Sky Sports celebrated the launch of their 2025 tennis coverage.
Sky Sports is the home to more live tennis than anywhere else. Watch year-round action including the ATP and WTA Tours and US Open exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW.
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