Draper has been Britain’s number one since June 2024, taking over from Norrie, who had held the position since winning Indian Wells in October 2021.
The 24-year-old has only played in two ranking events since last August’s U.S. Open and returned from injury in February.
Prior to his injury, Draper was steadily on his way to the top of his game.
He reached the semifinals of the 2024 US Open, won the most important title of his career at Indian Wells six months later and rose to fourth in the world rankings in June.
The Briton’s friendly rivalry with Norie could help push him back into the top ten.
“Cam is playing some great tennis,” Draper said.
“He’s been very consistent. I think it’s good for British tennis that he’s come back and played really well – he’s a top-10 player who had a serious forearm injury a couple of years ago.
“I’m really happy for him and his team and if we can continue to push each other to do well, that’s a really great thing.”
Rankings are calculated over a 12-month period, with players effectively defending points earned at the same event a year ago.
Draper’s absence from the tour was the primary reason he lost the UK No. 1 ranking, but Norrie performed well after falling outside the top 90 in April.
He reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July and defeated world number one Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters in October.
“I’m in a tough spot,” Nori said. “There were just a little too many expectations, but I let go of that and enjoyed my tennis more, and then suddenly I was in the top 30 at the end of last year.”
