He made his first tour appearance in
Valencia in
2007 as a
wild card but lost in the first round.
2009 In February, Davis Cup captain
John Lloyd selected six Britons for a play-off contest, to find two singles players for the Ukraine tie. In these, Ward competed in a then longest match in tennis history, lasting 6 hours and 40 minutes, against
Chris Eaton on 25 February. Eaton won the match 6–3, 6–2, 6–7, 2–6, 21–19, but it was not sanctioned by the ATP so was not an official record. It was exceeded later by the
Isner-Mahut match at the
2010 Wimbledon Championships. This was the second time that Ward had played a five set match – the first occasion had been the previous Monday also at the play-offs. This win propelled him into the top 250 of the ATP's rankings, establishing himself as British No. 2. In September, Ward was struck with glandular fever, and dropped to British No. 3. Ward beat Lithuanian No. 2
Laurynas Grigelis and became the first Briton other than
Tim Henman,
Greg Rusedski, or
Andy Murray to win a live rubber since
Andrew Richardson beat Zimbabwe's
Byron Black in 1997. Evans lost the second singles match, Fleming and Skupski won their doubles, but Ward and Evans were both beaten on the final day. This was described as a humiliating Davis Cup defeat for Great Britain and led to the resignation of Davis Cup captain John Lloyd. Britain was then threatened with relegation to the third tier of the competition. Tommy Peric became Ward's coach. The new Davis Cup captain
Leon Smith selected Ward to take part in Great Britain's vital
Davis Cup tie vs Turkey at Eastbourne in July alongside
Jamie Baker,
Ken Skupski,
Colin Fleming, and
Alex Ward (non-player). Defeat would have meant Great Britain's relegation to
Europe Zone Group III. Ward contributed to the victory by winning both his singles matches, Britain eventually winning 5–0, and giving Great Britain a first Davis Cup win in three years. At the
Delhi Commonwealth Games in October, Ward became the first Englishman to play tennis in a Commonwealth Games. Seeded fourth in the
singles, he beat
Jamie Murray in the second round to reach the quarterfinals.
2011 Ward lost at the first hurdle in six of his seven tournaments at the beginning of this year. So when Leon Smith, Britain's Davis Cup captain selected his team for the
Euro/Africa Zone Group II tie against Tunisia in March, he sprang a surprise, omitting
Alex Bogdanovic, having recalled the 26-year-old to the squad after a three-year absence. Instead, Smith's singles players were Ward (No. 214) and
Jamie Baker (No. 406), who had lost first time out in his last two events. Although Bogdanovic (No. 374) had lost all six of his live Davis Cup rubbers, he had at least won a Futures tournament in the United States that year. Ward followed this up by defeating defending champion and 13th seed
Sam Querrey, coming from a set down to win in three sets to equal his run at Eastbourne in 2010. Ward then defeated
Adrian Mannarino in three sets, despite missing seven match points in the second-set tiebreaker. He was eventually defeated by
Jo Wilfried Tsonga, having held a set point in the second-set tiebreaker. This was the first time two British players had reached this stage since the Open era began in 1968, the other man being
Andy Murray. At
Wimbledon Ward entered as a wildcard, but lost in the first round to
Michaël Llodra. In July, Ward took part in the
Davis Cup Luxembourg tie. Ward could not make good a ranking deficit of 106 places against world No. 81 Gilles Müller, and he lost the first rubber. Great Britain won 4–1, with Ward winning the dead rubber against unranked
Laurent Bram, a full-time coach who played competitively when he could. Following a short break, Ward's first tournament back was the
Lexington Challenger. As top seed, Ward reached the final, losing to
Wayne Odesnik. He was also runner-up in the doubles tournament. Two weeks later, Ward won the second Challenger tournament of his career at the
2011 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, defeating
Robby Ginepri. The win saw Ward rise to world No. 144. On 15 August ward rose to a career-high ranking of No. 140. In September, Ward was selected for the
Davis Cup promotion tie against Hungary. In the first rubber, Ward had a sometimes dramatic win over the visitors' No. 1
Attila Balázs. The drama came not so much from any searing quality of tennis, but from Ward's constant battle with cramping in his leg and queasiness that meant he had to nip backstage mid-match to empty the contents of his stomach. Ward had occasionally looked likely to default against an opponent ranked No. 262 in the world. With
Andy Murray,
Colin Fleming, and
Ross Hutchins winning, Great Britain claimed a decisive 3–0 lead, and was promoted into Europe/Africa Zone Group I.
2012 Ward qualified for his first Grand Slam other than Wimbledon, but lost in the first round of the
Australian Open to Slovenian
Blaž Kavčič. In February, Ward participated in the
Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I tie against Slovakia. Though he lost his singles rubbers, Great Britain won 3–2. Ward suffered from a back injury and was unable to play in the
Davis Cup tie against Belgium. On 30 April, Ward reached a career-high ranking in singles of No. 137. Entering
Wimbledon on a wild card, Ward won his first match at a Grand Slam, coming through a grueling five-set match to defeat the World no. 36
Pablo Andújar. He won the final six games after trailing in the final set 0–3. Ward had recently sold his £1300
Arsenal F.C. season ticket to fund his tennis, so he had some regrets after earning £23,125 for winning his first round Wimbledon match. In December, the
Lawn Tennis Association announced that Ward was the only player in Britain's top nine men to be funded for the following season.
2013 In January 2013, Ward failed to qualify for the
Australian Open, reaching the third round of qualifying before losing to
Julian Reister. Ward remained in Australia to compete in the
Charles Sturt Adelaide International, where he reached the final, defeating top seed
Yūichi Sugita along the way, before losing to home favourite
Matthew Barton. Ward was then selected for Great Britain's Davis Cup team for their
Europe/Africa Zone Group I match against Russia in
Coventry. Ward lost an epic first rubber to
Evgeny Donskoy to give Russia a 2–0 lead heading into the doubles rubber the following day. The doubles pairing of
Jonny Marray and
Colin Fleming gave the home side some hope going into the final day of matches, where Ward opened the day. Ward stunned the much higher seeded Russian
Dmitry Tursunov to level the tie.
Dan Evans would eventually complete a remarkable turnaround, with a straight-set victory over Donskoy. The last time Great Britain had come from 2–0 down to win a Davis Cup tie was
83 years ago against Germany, Consequently, Great Britain won a place in the 16-team
World Group play-offs in September. Ward had to be placed on a drip to help him recover from his efforts. The following Monday afternoon, Ward was not feeling well so he was again put on a drip. Ward kicked off his clay season in China, where he qualified for the
An-Ning ATP $50,000 Challenger event and reached the final. His route to the final included a victory over fourth seed
Josselin Ouanna. He lost to Hungarian
Márton Fucsovics in the final. Ward's first grass tournament was the annual event at
Queen's Club, where he lost in the first round to
Ivan Dodig, despite having two match points on serve in the second set. In July, Ward won his third Challenger title at Lexington, USA. In November, the
Lawn Tennis Association announced a dramatic cut in elite player funding, with all financial support being withdrawn from Britain's doubles specialists and any singles players aged over 24, such as Ward, to reduce the number of supported players from 16 to just six in 2014.
Andy Murray asked Ward to stay at his training camp in Miami for December, but Ward made a last-minute decision to stay home.
2014 Ward started 2014 in Brisbane, competing in the
Brisbane International, losing in the second round of qualifying to
Marius Copil in three sets. Ward then went on to the
Australian Open, where he disappointingly lost in the first round of qualifying to
Andrea Arnaboldi. Soon after, Ward competed in the
Maui Challenger, a common tournament for those who failed to make the Australian Open main draw. However, Ward once again lost disappointingly in the first round against
Denis Kudla. In late January, Ward was called to the Great British Davis Cup squad for the
World Group first round tie against the United States in
San Diego and was chosen to play the second rubber against world No. 49
Sam Querrey. Ward was two games from defeat in the fourth set before producing a remarkable comeback to beat Querrey in five sets and increase Great Britain's lead to 2–0. Ward agreed that it was the greatest win of his career. Great Britain would later go on to win the tie 3–1, with Andy Murray securing two victories; Ward was scheduled to play the final rubber against
Donald Young but both teams decided not to play. Ward entered the
Open BNP Paribas Banque de Bretagne as a sixth seed. However, he lost in the first round of 32 against
Maxime Authom. Moving on to the
Open 13, Ward entered qualifying and fought his way to the third and final round. However, he lost to
Ričardas Berankis, ending his progress in the tournament. He had more success in the
Dubai Tennis Championships, entering as a wild card into the main draw. In the first round of 32, Ward beat
Teymuraz Gabashvili in three sets in order to advance to the second round of 16. There, he lost to sixth seed,
Mikhail Youzhny, earning nearly $25,000 in the progress. Ward also entered the Qualifying tournament at the
BNP Paribas Open. At Indian Wells, Ward progressed to the second Qualifying Round, but lost to
Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. However, taking advantage of the withdrawal, Ward received a wild card into the main draw in place of the sixth seed
Juan Martín del Potro, thus earning a Bye in the first round of 128. Despite losing in the Round of 64 to Feliciano López, Ward once again earned around $16,000. Entering the
Visit Panamá Cup main draw directly, Ward lost to
Gastão Elias in the first round. Moving on, Ward was once again called into the Davis Cup squad, to compete
against Italy. Ward competed in two live rubbers in the tie, losing hard-fought battles against both
Fabio Fognini and
Andreas Seppi. Due to Fognini's win over Andy Murray, Italy won the tie 3–2. Ward qualified for the
French Open for the first time thanks to victories over Moldovan
Radu Albot in the first round of qualifying, and over American
Ryan Harrison in the second. He followed this up with a tense victory over Slovenian
Blaz Rola in the final round. By doing so, Ward became the first British player to progress through qualifying for the French Open since
John Lloyd in 1973.
2015: Davis Cup Champion In January, Ward joined Andy Murray's training camp in Dubai. At the Australian Open, Ward was named as the sixth alternate on the main entry list. but a number of withdrawals meant that Ward joined the main draw and did not need to qualify. Ward became the first British male singles player other than Andy Murray to earn direct entry into a Grand Slam since Tim Henman at the 2007 US Open. Ward played 31st seed Fernando Verdasco in the first round, losing 2–6 6–0 7–6 (8–6) 6–3. In March, Ward was selected for the
Davis Cup first round tie against the United States in Glasgow, pulling off the biggest win of his career. Ward, ranked 111 in the world, came from two sets down to beat 20th-ranked
John Isner 6–7 (5–7) 5–7 6–3 7–6 (7–3) 15–13 in a match which surpassed the five-hour mark, to set Great Britain on their way to victory. He was also part of the team for the
Davis Cup quarter final against France. Ward lost to
Gilles Simon, the world No 11, but Great Britain won 3–1 to qualify for the Davis Cup semi-final. Since Wimbledon, Ward suffered nine successive defeats, but was announced for the Davis Cup team in the
semi-final against Australia in Glasgow. The Davis Cup captain, Leon Smith, eventually made the surprise decision to give the 300 ranked Dan Evans the second singles position along with Andy Murray. Though Dan Evans lost his rubber, Great Britain won 3–2 and reached the Davis Cup Final for the first time since 1978. In October, Ward won his fourth Challenger title in
Bangalore, defeating top seed Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6–2, 7–5 to clinch his first title on the Challenger Tour since July 2013. Ward lost in the second round of the same event, though Ward, ranked 156, had won the hard court Bangalore Challenger. On the same day as Edmund's victory, Dan Evans, ranked 271, won the Knoxville Challenger on a hard court, but with Belgium opting to stage the tie on an indoor clay court, Smith chose to go with the British number two Edmund, now ranked 100, as his second singles player. Ward,
Kyle Edmund,
Jamie Murray and
Andy Murray were chosen for the
2015 Davis Cup Final versus Belgium in Ghent. Edmund made his Davis Cup debut in the
2015 final playing the first singles match against Belgian Number 1
David Goffin, ranked No 16, but lost 6–3, 6–1, 2–6, 1–6, 0–6. There were suggestions that Smith would replace Edmund with the more experienced Ward if the final was locked at 2–2 on Sunday, yet Smith indicated that he could stick with Edmund. Great Britain went on to lead 3–1, and win the Davis Cup for the
first time since 1936. After returning home, Ward revealed that his coach, Australian Darren Tandy, was seriously ill with cancer and that had brought an end to their working relationship. Tandy received an initial diagnosis of colon cancer during the post-Wimbledon tournaments in America, and suffered a stroke while they were together at the US Open together. Ward said 'I am not using it as an excuse for what happened after Wimbledon but obviously it did not help. The most important thing is Darren's health and it has been an upsetting and worrying situation.' On 4 December, Ward booked his first practice session with his new coach
Morgan Phillips, a former British player from Croydon, and one of his best friends. Ward joined the rest of the Davis Cup team at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Show, where they won the 2015
Team of the Year Award. and the Manchester Challenger Ward failed to qualify for the
Australian Open,
French Open and
US Open, and was beaten in the first or second round of two ATP and nine Challenger tournaments, plus five ATP Qualifiers. Ward had to cope with recurring tendonitis in his right knee, and the death of his coach. Entering
Wimbledon on a wildcard, Ward's first round match was against world no 1
Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. Initially losing 0–6, 0–3, whilst not winning a single point in the first set, Ward came back to take the second set to a tie-break, but was eventually beaten 0–6, 6–7, 4–6. After Wimbledon, Ward was due to play an ATP qualifier, but six hours before his flight to the US, he was called up for the
Davis Cup quarter final against Serbia in
Belgrade, to cover the absence of
Andy Murray, and
Dan Evans who had a shoulder problem and some problems at home. Persistent rain during
Kyle Edmund's successful match meant that Ward had to play the second singles on Saturday.
Dušan Lajović, world no 81 and the Serbian number one in the absence of
Novak Djokovic and
Viktor Troicki beat Ward heavily in a straight sets victory to make it 1-1. With
Jamie Murray and
Dominic Inglot winning the doubles and Kyle Edmund victorious over Dusan Lajovic, Great Britain won 3–1 to progress to the Davis Cup semi final. Ward's last match of the year was in September at the
St Petersburg Open first round qualifier. His ranking fell from 156 in January to 444 by the end of the year.
2017 After an eight-month absence due to a knee problem, Ward returned in June for the British grass court season, but lost five first round matches, including
Wimbledon where he had received a wild card.
2021: Retirement Ward announced his retirement from professional tennis on 17 December 2021. ==Performance timelines==