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Lewis Williams (real tennis)

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Lewis Williams
Full nameLewis Williams
Country (sports)United Kingdom United Kingdom
ResidenceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Born (1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 30)
Turned pro2011
PlaysRight-handed
ClubLeamington Tennis Court Club
Singles
Career titles0
Highest ranking12
Current ranking12
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (2023)
British Open2R (2022, 2023)
French OpenQF (2023, 2024)
US Open1R (2023, 2024)
Doubles
Career titles0
Highest ranking13
Current ranking13
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2013, 2022, 2023, 2024)
French OpenQF (2012, 2014, 2023, 2024)
British OpenQF (2013, 2014, 2023)
US OpenQF (2023, 2024)

Lewis Williams (born 8 September 1994) is a British professional real tennis player, currently the head professional at the Leamington Tennis Court Club.[1] He is currently ranked twelfth in the world at singles and thirteenth in the world at doubles. His most notable result was reaching the semi-finals at the 2023 Australian Open, and twice a quarter finalist at the French Open.

Career

[edit]

Williams began his career as a junior at the Prested Hall Real Tennis Club in Feering, Essex. He was successful in age group tournaments, winning the British Under 14's Open in 2008, followed by consecutive French Under 16's Opens in 2009 and 2010, defeating Baudouin Huynh-Lenhardt on both occasions. In 2010, Williams would win the British Under 16's Open, defeating Levi Gale in the final.[2] He followed up in 2011 by winning the British Under 18's Open, while also reaching the final of the Prested Under 20's Cup. losing to Conor Medlow.

Williams turned professional in 2011, working at Prested Hall.[3] He made his professional tournament debut at the 2011 IRTPA Championships at Manchester, losing to John Lumley both in the Satellite draw and the Taylor Cup for new professionals. In 2012, Williams made his American debut at the US Professional Singles, losing to Richard Smith in the main draw and Josh Bainton in the Satellite draw, all without winning a set. Following a loss in the 2012 British Under 18's Final to Levi Gale, Williams made his French Open debut in Bordeaux, losing in the first round to Ben Taylor-Matthews. He won his first Open doubles match at that tournament, paired with Adrian Kemp and defeating the French pair of Peio Sarlangue and Antoine Dubrulle in straight sets. At the end of the year, Williams entered the British Open for the first time. Williams progressed through three rounds of qualifying, beating Andrew Knibbs, Scott Blaber and Darren Long on the way, the former two in three set matches. Once in the main draw, he lost his first match to Mark Hobbs, ending the year without an Open match victory.

At the start of 2013, Williams reached the final of the British Under 24's Doubles at Middlesex with Michael Williams (no relation), beat by Medlow and Lumley. Williams travelled to Melbourne for the Australian Open, losing the first round of singles to Michael Williams. He did reach a second doubles quarter final with Brett McFarlane, overcoming the Australian amateur pair of Peter Estcourt and Walter Cockram in the first round. At the end of the year, he won the Category B Open at Bridport against local professional Neil Mackenzie and qualified for the British Open again. However he still could not register an Open match win, as he was defeated by Peter Wright in straight sets.[4]

In 2014, Williams won the British Under 21's Open against Mackenzie, but still struggled to find a win in Open competitions. After qualifying for the French Open, he lost in the first round to Steve Virgona, and he failed to qualify for the British Open, losing to Will Burns. His season was redeemed by winning the Taylor Cup against Leon Smart in his last year of eligibility. Despite defending the British Under 21's Open in 2015 against Jonny Whitaker, Williams stepped back from real tennis in 2016. He only played the IRTPA Doubles Championship at his home court of Prested in 2016 and 2018, dropping out in the first round on both occasions.[5] In 2019, he switched sports, becoming a padel coach at Prested Hall.

Williams returned to real tennis in 2021, becoming the head professional at the Leamington Tennis Court Club following the departure of Ben Taylor-Matthews. In his return to competitive play, he lost in the qualifiers of the British Open to Will Flynn. Williams played all four Opens in 2022, failing to qualify for the US Open. He registered his first Open singles victory at the Australian Open, beating CJ White in straight sets, losing to John Lumley in the quarter final. Williams also lost to Lumley at that year's French Open. In the British Open, Williams drew his first round against women's World Champion Claire Fahey. In a match going the full five sets, the first for either player, Williams came out the victor 3/6 6/5 6/3 3/6 6/3.[6] Williams also made his Champions Trophy debut, failing to progress from qualifying. Again at the 2022 US Professional Singles, he reached the final of the satellite draw, losing to Leon Smart.[7]

2023 would bring the best performances in Williams' career. He reached the semi final of the Australian Open, beating Australians Andrew Fowler and Michael Williams along the way. In the semi final, he lost to home professional Chris Chapman in straight sets. At the French Open, Williams would reach the quarter finals for the first time following another five set match against Josh Smith, with Williams saving match points in the third set. The pair would play another five set match in the first round of that year's British Open, with Williams again the victor.[8]

In 2024, Williams did not progress past the first round of the 2024, losing to Darren Long in five sets. He registered his second match win at the French Open against Henry Henman, also defending match points.[9] Outside of the national Opens, he was a finalist at the 2024 Category A Open at Manchester and the US Professional Singles satellite draw.[10] He narrowly missed qualification to the Champions Trophy losing to Nino Merola in qualifying.[11] He also lost in the first round of the British Open in five sets to Bertie Vallat, missing out on a third consecutive second round appearance.

Performance timeline

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Singles

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2024 French Open[12]

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R A A A A A A A NH QF SF 1R 0 / 4 3–4 43%
British Open A 1R 1R Q2 A A A A A NH Q1 2R 2R 1R 0 / 4 2–4 33%
French Open A 1R A 1R A A A A A NH 1R QF QF 0 / 5 2–5 29%
US Open A A A A A A A A A A A Q2 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–3 4–4 1–3 0 / 15 7–15 32%
IRTPA Sanctioned Tournaments
Champions Trophy NH A A A NH RR RR RR 0 / 2 1–3 25%
IRTPA Championship Q1 1R A 1R A NH A A A NH 0 / 2 0–3 0%
US Pro A 1R Q1 Q1 A A A A A NH A 1R 1R 1R 0 / 4 0–4 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 0–2 0–1 0 / 8 1–10 9%
Career Statistics
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Career
Tournaments 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 4 Career total: 23
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–5 0–2 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–6 4–6 1–4 8–25 24%
Win %  –  0% 0% 0%  –   –   –   –   –   –   –  33% 40% 20% Career total: 24%

Doubles

[edit]
Tournament 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A QF A A A A A A A NH QF QF QF 0 / 4 1–4 20%
British Open A QF QF A A A A A NH A 1R QF 0 / 4 3–4 43%
French Open QF NH QF A A A A A NH A QF QF 0 / 4 1–4 20%
US Open A A A A A A A A A A 1R QF QF 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Win–loss 1–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–3 2–4 1–3 0 / 15 7–15 32%
IRTPA Sanctioned Tournaments
IRTPA Championship NH QF A QF NH 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Career Statistics
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Career
Tournaments 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 4 3 Career total: 17
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Overall win–loss 1–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–3 2–4 1–3 7–17 29%
Win % 50% 50% 33%  –  0%  –  0%  –   –   –  0% 33% 25% Career total: 29%

References

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  1. ^ "Player Profiles - Lewis Williams". Royal Tennis Court. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Under 16 Real Tennis Championships" (PDF). Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Lewis loving life as a real tennis professional". Braintree & Witham Times. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  4. ^ "British Open Singles 2013". International Real Tennis Professionals Association. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  5. ^ "IRTPA Professional Doubles". Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  6. ^ "British Open Singles and Doubles Championships 2022". Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  7. ^ "2022 Professional Singles Report" (PDF). United States Court Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  8. ^ "British Open Singles and Doubles Championships 2023". Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  9. ^ "2024 Real Tennis French Open: Men's seeds through to semis, women kick off on Thursday". Jeu de Paume de Paris. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  10. ^ "2024 U.S. Pro Singles playing for the Schochet Cup". United States Court Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  11. ^ White, Tom (12 July 2024). "Royal Tennis Court announces draw for 2024 Champions Trophy at Hampton Court Palace". Woking News & Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Player Profile – Lewis Williams". International Real Tennis Professionals Association.
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