Which Indian Wells champ will have the better year: Jack Draper or Mirra Andreeva?

As we make our way toward the 2026 season—which begins Friday, January 2 on Tennis Channel with the United Cup—our Tennis Channel analysts and editors tackle the most important questions of the new year.

Next up: Which Indian Wells champ will have the better year: Jack Draper or Mirra Andreeva?

VICTORIA DUVAL: Mirra Andreeva will have a better year. Draper's ceiling is high but he was sidelined by a left-arm injury after the US Open, and will be battling some rust early on. Andreeva didn’t play her best after Wimbledon, but the youngster should be able to hit the ground running by Australia.

COCO VANDEWEGHE: I’ve picked against Jack Draper once before and it happened to be at Indian Wells, where he went on to beat Carlos Alcaraz en route to winning the biggest title of his career. I told him I would never bet against him again.

DAVID KANE: The search for a third man to break up the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner duopoly will be on and popping in 2026; who will be the Novak Djokovic to this generation’s Fedal? Jack Draper looks to be the one with the greatest amounts of raw talent and competitive ability, but the young Brit has been continually snake-bitten by injuries. Lest we forget, Draper started 2025 under an injury cloud before playing his way into a pair of Masters 1000 finals. He didn’t need a ton of lead time to make that happen this season, so I’m inclined to think he’ll be able to start strong in January if he’s fully healed from his left-arm injury.

BRETT HABER: I’ve never had a bone bruise in my serving arm—and I don’t want one. But that’s what limited Jack Draper to just one event post-Wimbledon this year. Mirra Andreeva’s form dipped in the second half of the year, but you could easily chalk that up to a normal “sophomore slump.” Draper’s physical issues leave more questions for me.

PAUL ANNACONE: Both are so promising, but I’m concerned about Jack’s injuries, if he's healthy I expect a huge year, but I will give this to Andreeva. I expect her to make some off-season adjustments—with help from coach Conchita Martinez—and have a great year, including Indian Wells, where she’ll be defending champion.