# William Ward (tennis)

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

* Legend
* Group membership
* World 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 outcome | No. | Rubber | Match type (partner if any) | Opponent nation | Opponent player(s) | Score |
| 0-5; 9–11 March 2004; Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia; Group I Asia/Oceania First round play-offs; Hard surface |||||||
| Defeat | 2. | IV | Singles (dead rubber) | Indonesia | Febi Widhiyanto | 4–6, 3–6 |

## ITF Futures finals
### Doubles: 2 (0–2)

| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2009 | Thailand F5, Nakhon Ratchasima | Futures | Hard | Matt Simpson | Harri Heliövaara Roman Jebavý | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Nov 2009 | Vietnam F1, Bình Dương | Futures | Hard | Matt Simpson | Kirati Siributwong Rubin Statham | 4–6, 0–6 |

## ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors
### Singles: 2 (2 runners-up)

* Legend
* Category JA (0–0)
* Category J1 (0–0)
* Category J2 (0–1)
* Category J3 (0–0)
* Category J4 (0–1)
* Category J5 (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Category | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2003 | Sunsmart 18 and Under Canterbury Championships, New Zealand | Category G4 | Hard | Kiril Tcherveniachki | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 2003 | Thailand Junior International Tennis Championships, Thailand | Category G2 | Hard | Yi Chu-huan | 3–6, 6–3, 3–6 |

### Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

* Legend
* Category JA (0–0)
* Category J1 (0–1)
* Category J2 (0–0)
* Category J3 (0–0)
* Category J4 (2–0)
* Category J5 (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Category | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2003 | Auckland 18 & Under Summer Championships, New Zealand | Category G4 | Hard | Kiril Tcherveniachki | Guy Belcher David Galic | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–0 | Feb 2003 | Sunsmart 18 and Under Canterbury Championships, New Zealand | Category G4 | Hard | Kiril Tcherveniachki | Steven Fotakis Patrick Jozwik | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Mar 2004 | Amata Cup, 24th Thailand International Junior Tennis Championships, Thailand | Category G1 | Hard | Karan Rastogi | Jun Woong-sun Kim Sun-yong | 1–6, 3–6 |