Close friendships were formed as Ward-Hibbert travelled the world playing tennis, and in 2012 he reached the pinnacle as he teamed up with Liam Broady to win the Australian Open junior doubles title.

Ward-Hibbert turned professional and won one singles title and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Futures circuit, including five with Broady and four with Lloyd Glasspool, another who is now a regular on the main ATP doubles circuit.

But he struggled to progress beyond that, and at 22 he decided to step away from tour life to go to Loughborough University to further his education.

"There were a few things that happened in my personal life, and I had a little injury that kept recurring and was not going away how I wanted it to," he said.

"Everything just combined to put me to a tipping point.

"Tennis is a super-tough sport, physically and mentally. You are always travelling, you are constantly living out of a suitcase.

"No matter where it is, you have got to live it. It's difficult, it's very much a lifestyle, 45, 50 weeks of the year."

But Ward-Hibbert would not be without his tennis career.

"It is an amazing sport. There were so many highs, it taught me so much as a person, and the kind of person I am today is from the journey I had.

"I'm definitely glad I had that journey. It would be remiss not to say I wish I had got to world number one, but that wasn't in my path.

"I got to win a Grand Slam with one of my closest friends still to this day. That is a memory I am never going to forget."