Gareth Williams (born 27 August 1975) is a former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from South Africa.

Biography

Born in Pretoria, Williams was a doubles specialist, who had success as a junior in 1993 when he made three junior

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

finals. After finishing runner-up at both the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, he and

Neville Godwin Neville Godwin (born 31 January 1975) is a former tennis player from South Africa. Godwin turned professional in 1994. The right-hander won one singles title (2001 Newport) in his career, and reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP ...

made a third successive final at the 1993 US Open, defeating the Australian pairing of

Ben Ellwood Ben Ellwood (born 12 March 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. Career An outstanding junior, Ellwood won the boys' singles at the 1994 Australian Open, defeating Andrew Ilie in the final. He was the boys' doubles cham ...

and

James Sekulov James Sekulov (born 13 October 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. Career Sekulov was a boys' doubles finalist at the 1993 US Open, partnering Ben Ellwood. He finished that year as the world's seventh-ranked junior si ...

. He and Godwin also competed in several ATP Tour events, including Durban in 1993, where they made the quarter-finals. In the mid-1990s he left the professional circuit to play collegiate tennis in the United States at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

(UT). Graduating from UT with a psychology degree, he returned to the tour and in 2000 reached his best ranking of 179 in the world for doubles. He won a Challenger title in San Antonio in 2000 with

Wesley Whitehouse Wesley Whitehouse (born 13 March 1979) is a South African-born New Zealand tennis player. Biography Whitehouse lives or has lived in between Pretoria, South Africa and Phoenix, Arizona but currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand Career J ...

, beating the

Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...

in the final. At the

2001 French Open The 2001 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2001 and the 105th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2001. Seniors Men's singles Gustavo Kuerten def ...

he and

Marcos Ondruska Marcos Ondruska (born 18 December 1972) is a former tennis player from South Africa, who turned professional in 1989. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he defeated Goran Ivanišević in th ...

featured in the men's doubles main draw and lost in the first round to seventh seeds

Ellis Ferreira Ellis Ferreira (born 19 February 1970) is a former professional male tennis player from South Africa. He played collegiately at the University of Alabama, earning all-SEC and all-American honors. Ferreira competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in ...

and

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open) ...

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Doubles: 14 (9–5)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gareth 1975 births Living people South African male tennis players US Open (tennis) junior champions Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's tennis players Sportspeople from Pretoria Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles