This feature originally appeared in the 2020 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



Ben Draper took the family business to the United States.
 
A product of Ashtead, England, Draper is a junior on the Cal men's tennis team and was a part of the Golden Bears' best-in-the-nation recruiting class in 2016. He's a key member of a nationally ranked Cal squad that started off strong in the 2020 dual-match season.
 
Draper comes from a tennis family, including his father, Roger, the former head of the Lawn Tennis Association in England; his mother, Nicky, a former British junior champion (and Ben's first coach); and his younger brother, Jack, a professional player who was the 2018 Junior Wimbledon singles runner-up.
 
"I started playing at 4 or 5 years old," Ben Draper said. "My mom was a coach, and a lot of the time I'd be left with my brother at the club where she coached. In our free time, we picked up rackets and spent time hitting the ball. That's how I really got into it. My dad was involved in tennis, as well. It runs quite deep in the family."
 
Ben Draper forged his own tennis path when he left home to play collegiately in the USA. Draper and another Jack – Jack Molloy – made the trek to Berkeley after they played doubles together in 2016 Junior Wimbledon and attended Reed's School, the same high school that produced former British star Tim Henman. A connection between Molloy's dad, Sean, and Cal Director of Men's Tennis Peter Wright – they were teammates on Ireland's Davis Cup team – led to the Bears' interest in the two.
 
"It's been really nice having Ben alongside me at Cal," Molloy said. "We've taken a lot of the same classes, so being with him definitely made it much easier for me to settle into my studies. We're fortunate that our team is like a big family, so adjusting to life here was never going to be too tough. But I do appreciate the British humor from time to time!"
 
"When I think of Ben Draper, I think of the word 'banter,'" added Wright. "He's witty and he loves to have lively conversations."
 
Draper and Molloy's recruiting class propelled the Bears to the third round of the NCAA tournament last season, with potentially more postseason success on the way. Draper posted a 10-4 doubles record – and a No. 38 doubles ranking with Bjorn Hoffmann – along with a 5-2 singles mark when precautions due to the coronavirus ended the season. In Cal's 4-2 result over No. 10 UCLA on Jan. 31, Draper and Hoffmann clinched the doubles point, and Draper's singles win secured the team victory.
 
"Ben has very good self-awareness," Wright said. "He knows tennis very well, but he also knows how to play the best style for what he does well. He's a big, strong server, and each year, his ability to play an aggressive, disruptive style has greatly improved. His game style is tough to play against."
 
After Cal, joining the pro ranks is a possibility as is pursuing a career in sports management. But for now, Draper's focused on making an imprint on the Cal program in his remaining time in Berkeley.
 
"We're very fortunate to have the setup that we have at Cal," he said. "We get treated so well, it enables us to strive for excellence both on and off the court. I'm very happy at Cal, and I'm going to enjoy the next year."