British star misses exchange ritual

Draper misses pin trading culture

Draper, however, came to Paris 2024 unaware of this tradition. He left all his British pins at home and did not take part in the traditional exchanges: “I didn’t know anything about it, but there is such a thing as a pin culture, you know?” the British No. 1 said after his first-round victory on Sunday. “I left all my pins at home because I thought they were just, I didn’t know what they were.

“I thought they were just meant to be given to family members and stuff, but then of course we came and everyone was exchanging their pins and I don’t have any pins and that’s a pain. So I didn’t really get to meet any other athletes.”

Although Draper has not been able to meet athletes from other countries, he has spoken to other British athletes: “But I got to see the British gymnasts and the hockey team,” he said.

“We have a great lodge that we go to, the GB lodge, so we’re lucky that we have our own space there and good food and things like that, because in the village it can get quite hectic. It’s an interesting experience, but it definitely seems a lot busier than when it’s just an individual tournament.”

Jack Draper at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

“Since the accreditation line where we picked up our badges, he’s been all in and getting as many as he can. So he has a little bit of an unfair advantage because a lot of people come up to him for selfies and he trades that in for badges, which is interesting.”