Jack Draper and Holger Rune add firepower to UTS Grand Final in London

Briton Jack Draper and Danish star Holger Rune were both awarded wildcards into the eight-man field at the season-ending UTS Grand Final in London.

The pair will join Andrey "Rublo" Rublev, Casper "The Iceman" Ruud and Gael "La Monf" Monfils at the Grand Final, which takes place from December 15-17 at London's ExCel, one of the UK's leading international exhibition and conference centres.

China's Wu Yibing, who won the UTS Los Angeles event earlier this summer, is out of the field due to a foot injury.

UTS is the world's newest, most exciting, innovative tennis league, playing an entirely reinvented game format, which features four eight-minute quarters, one serve, bonus cards and just 15 seconds between points and sudden death points, all accompanied by live music for an experience which combines sport and entertainment.

There are five ticketed sessions available - afternoon and evening of 15th December and Saturday 16th December and a daytime session on Sunday 17th December. Anyone who buys a day pass for Friday or Saturday is guaranteed to see ALL players. Tickets for UTS London are available. Connect to uts.live website for more information.

The 21-year-old Draper, who reached the fourth round of the US Open in September, is in fine form after winning the ATP Challenger title in Bergamo last week and will be making his UTS debut in his home city of London. 

Draper has asked his fans to help him choose a nickname and wants the home fans to make as much noise as possible for him as he takes on some of the world's best male players.

World No 10 Rune – "The Viking" – reached the quarter-finals at both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon this year. The 20-year old, who hit a new career-high ranking of No 4 in August, won his fourth ATP Tour title in Munich this year, and also reached Masters 1000 finals in Monte-Carlo and Rome, defeating Novak Djokovic on his path.

The Viking will be returning to the UTS for a second time, having effectively started his pro career at UTS as a 17-year-old.

"My nickname is how I'm built, how I'm born, how my parents raised me," Rune said.

"I can promise fans I will fight until the end, like I always do, with lots of passion on the court."

Three more places in London are still up for grabs, with one more event to be played before London – UTS Seoul – which takes place from Nov 30-Dec 3.

The winner in Seoul will automatically qualify for London, while the top three players in the race ranking will also be assured of a spot in the Grand Final. Monfils has already enough points and appearances to have already qualified.

The winner of the Grand Final will decide the 2023 UTS World Champion. 

READ MORE: Indomitable Iga Swiatek signs off on superlative 2023 WTA season