William Ward (born 4 March 1986) is a former New Zealand tennis player. He reached the height of his career on the junior circuit in 2004 with a ranking of 24 in the world, then went to college in USA before retiring from playing at only 23 after finishing his study at the University of Kentucky in 2009. He started coaching in 2013, he coaches players Michael Venus and Finn Tearney.
Career Ward started his junior tennis career in 2000 at the age of 14. He played his first grade 1 tournament in March 2003, his first grade B tournament in August 2003, and his first grade A tournament, the highest junior tournament level, in October 2003.
In March 2004 he was ranked among the top 30 in the junior circuit and was selected to represent New Zealand in the 2004 Davis Cup, he only competed in one game at the Davis Cup Indonesia at the first round playoffs in April, at the second round playoffs in Pakistan he was promised selection by the Davis Cup captain after playing US Open Juniors where he made the third round, however, once arriving in Pakistan he was not selected to play and this resulted with William Ward and the Davis Cup captain being in disagreement with each other over the selection process.
Earlier in the year he competed in the quarterfinals at 2004 Wimbledon boys' singles and was the top ranked New Zealand junior at the end of the year. He retired from tennis in 2009. He started coaching in 2013, coaching players Michael Venus, who won the 2017 French Open men's doubles, and Finn Tearney. He was also a member of the board of directors for Tennis NZ until 2021.
Davis Cup LegendGroup membershipWorld Group (0)Group I (0–1)Group II (0–0)Group III (0)Group IV (0)
indicates the outcome of the Davis Cup match followed by the score, date, place of event, the zonal classification and its phase, and the court surface.
Rubber outcomeNo.RubberMatch type (partner if any)Opponent nationOpponent player(s)Score0-5; 9–11 March 2004; Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia; Group I Asia/Oceania First round play-offs; Hard surfaceDefeat2.IVSingles (dead rubber) IndonesiaFebi Widhiyanto4–6, 3–6
ITF Futures finals
Doubles: 2 (0–2) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss0–1Thailand F5, Nakhon RatchasimaFuturesHard Matt Simpson Harri Heliövaara Roman Jebavý2–6, 2–6Loss0–2Vietnam F1, Bình DươngFuturesHard Matt Simpson Kirati Siributwong Rubin Statham4–6, 0–6
ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors
Singles: 2 (2 runners-up) LegendCategory JA (0–0)Category J1 (0–0)Category J2 (0–1)Category J3 (0–0)Category J4 (0–1)Category J5 (0–0) ResultW–LDateTournamentCategorySurfaceOpponentScoreLoss0–1Sunsmart 18 and Under Canterbury Championships, New ZealandCategory G4Hard Kiril Tcherveniachki3–6, 3–6Loss0–2Thailand Junior International Tennis Championships, ThailandCategory G2Hard Yi Chu-huan3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up) LegendCategory JA (0–0)Category J1 (0–1)Category J2 (0–0)Category J3 (0–0)Category J4 (2–0)Category J5 (0–0) ResultW–LDateTournamentCategorySurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin1–0Auckland 18 & Under Summer Championships, New ZealandCategory G4Hard Kiril Tcherveniachki Guy Belcher David Galic6–2, 6–2Win2–0Sunsmart 18 and Under Canterbury Championships, New ZealandCategory G4Hard Kiril Tcherveniachki Steven Fotakis Patrick Jozwik7–5, 6–4Loss2–1Amata Cup, 24th Thailand International Junior Tennis Championships, ThailandCategory G1Hard Karan Rastogi Jun Woong-sun Kim Sun-yong1–6, 3–6
See also New Zealand Davis Cup team
References