Oliver Golding

Oliver Golding (born 29 September 1993) is a former British professional tennis player and former child actor. Showing promise in reaching a world junior ranking of number two and being the 2011 U.S. Open Boys' Champion.,[1] Golding failed to transition onto the men's professional circuit, Never entering the top 300 and failing to win a match on the ATP tour.

Oliver Golding
Oliver Golding in 2014
Full nameOliver Golding
Country (sports) United Kingdom
ResidenceRichmond, London, England
Born (1993-09-29) 29 September 1993
Richmond, London, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$99,692
Singles
Career record0–3
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 327 (28 April 2014)
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon1R (2012)
Doubles
Career record0–1
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 409 (27 August 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon1R (2012)
Last updated on: 1 January 2019.
Medal record
Men's tennis
Representing a mixed-NOCs team
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Singapore Doubles

Golding is a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist, having won gold in the boys' doubles event in tennis at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics with Czech partner Jiří Veselý, with whom he also reached the final in the boys' doubles at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Tennis

Early career

In 2004, Golding began playing tennis for the Esporta Riverside Club, Chiswick,[2] and later that year went to Wimbledon, under the Lawn Tennis Association's "Ariel Champions of the Future" scheme, to meet former professionals Martina Navratilova and Todd Woodbridge.[3]

Oliver Golding in action during the 2010 US Open

On 27 November 2005, in the first ever Aberdeen Cup tennis match,[4] Golding was selected to represent England in one of the junior matches, beating Scotland's Scott Lister 11 games to 4 in their "tie-break" style rubber, to square the match however, Jamie Murray and Elena Baltacha won their subsequent doubles game, to secure a Scottish victory.[5] It was claimed on the Guardian Unlimited website that Golding had "impressed Andy Murray when he played for England against Scotland".[6]

In late 2006, as fourth seed, Golding lost 4–6, 2–6, in the semi-final of the Ariel Winter Grand Prix event (promoted by the LTA), to the eventual winner, number two seed Andrew Bettles.[7]

Golding's first two tournament wins were in the Bournemouth Open (Boys 14) at the West Hants Club on 5 August 2007,[8] when he defeated David Wright 6–3, 6–0 in the Final,[9] and in the Frutina Westway Winter Tournament (16 & Under) on 31 December 2007, when he beat Alexander Wilton 6–0, 6–0 in that Final match.[10] Golding was also the recipient of a £2,000 grant from "Tennis First", a charity set up to help young players fulfil their potential, and tennis kit from the manufacturers Fred Perry. Subsequently, on 5 April 2008, Golding beat Zack Evenden 6–3, 6–1 to win the Rickmansworth Junior Tournament (18 & Under Boys Singles).[11]

Golding won his first ITF tournament in July 2008 at the Grade 5 Scottish International ITF doubles competition, partnering Nick Jones.[12] He became the British junior No. 1 in late 2009. In 2010 he reached the semifinals in the junior boys singles at Wimbledon, beating the world Number No. 1 Jason Kubler en route.[13][14]

At the Youth Olympics Golding beat world No. 1 and Junior Wimbledon champion Márton Fucsovics in round 1 of the singles,[15] and won gold in the boys' doubles with Czech partner Jiří Veselý. This moved him into the top 20 of the ITF boys' world rankings. At the 2010 US Open Golding once again teamed up with Jiří Veselý in the boys' doubles. They reached the final where they lost 6–1, 7–5.

In September 2011, Golding won the US Open boys' singles, reaching as high as No. 2 in the junior combined rankings as a result.

Junior performance timelines

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.
Junior singles
Tournament200920102011W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 3R A 2–1
French Open A 2R QF 4–2
Wimbledon 1R SF 2R 5–3
US Open A 2R W 7–1
Win–loss 0–1 8–4 10–2
Youth Olympic Games
Summer Youth Olympics NH QF NH 2–1
Junior doubles
Tournament200920102011W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R A 0–1
French Open A QF QF 4–2
Wimbledon 1R 1R F 4–3
US Open 1R F QF 6–3
Win–loss 0–2 5–4 8–3
Youth Olympic Games
Summer Youth Olympics NH W NH 4–0

2011

Golding was given a wildcard to play at the Aegon Championships in London but lost in the first round to 2007 finalist Nicolas Mahut in his first non-junior event.

At the French Open Golding was a Boys' Singles quarterfinalist. He was defeated by Bjorn Fratangelo 1–6, 1–6. Golding also reached the quarterfinals of the Boys' doubles at the French Open, partnered with Jiří Veselý, they lost to Mitchell Krueger and Shane Vinsant of the US in 4–6, 6–4, 8–10.

At the Wimbledon Championships Golding reached the Final of the boys' doubles, partnered with Jiří Veselý, where they lost to George Morgan & Mate Pavić in 3 sets 6–3, 4–6, 5–7. Golding reached the second round of the boys' singles.

Golding partnered Liam Broady at the boys' doubles at the 2011 U.S. Open, being beaten by R. Kern and J. Lenz, 6–7 (4–7), 4–6 of Germany in the quarterfinals. In the boys' Singles at the 2011 U.S. Open Golding won the final by defeating Jiří Veselý 5–7, 6–3, 6–4.

Golding finished the 2011 season with an ITF Junior Boys' Rankings world ranking of 3; his highest season ranking was 2.

2012

Through 2012, Golding mainly played on the Futures tour, winning two tournaments and losing one further final as of September 2012.[16] Golding made his ATP Tour debut at the 2012 Aegon Championships and his grand slam debut at Wimbledon, losing both matches.[17]

2014

In August 2014, Golding announced that he was "taking a break" from tour tennis, as he felt he had just been "going through the motions", partly due to his feelings about the reduction in the Lawn Tennis Association's bonus scheme and the closure of the high-performance programme at the National Tennis Centre in Richmond, very near his home. He stated that he felt he would have to relocate to France to continue in top-class tennis, because of a shortage of high quality training locations in the UK. However, he found that he was unwilling to do this, due to his dislike of travelling.[18] As of 2015, Golding was a former tennis player helping out at his mother's tennis coaching school.[19]

2017

Golding made a brief comeback in August when he came through qualifying to win an ITF Futures tournament in Italy defeating Davide Galoppini in the final 7–6 6–3. In the first round he knocked out the number one seed Yaraslav Shyla (298) 6–2 7–6. He followed this by reaching the final of his next futures event in Nottingham.

Golding admitted to being approached by Alexandros Jakupovic to throw a match.[20]

Challengers and Futures finals

Singles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures Tour (6–6)
Titles by surface
Hard (4–3)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Apr 2012 Great Britain F6, Bournemouth Futures Clay United Kingdom Andrew Fitzpatrick 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Win 2–0 May 2012 Great Britain F8, Newcastle Futures Clay United Kingdom Daniel Smethurst 6–4, 6–1
Loss 2–1 Aug 2012 Netherlands F5, Enschede Futures Clay United Kingdom Alexander Slabinsky 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–2 Oct 2012 Qatar F2, Doha Futures Hard France Clément Reix 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–3 Jun 2013 Spain F15, Madrid Futures Clay Germany Richard Becker 3–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 Aug 2013 Austria F6, Wels Futures Clay Austria Dennis Novak 2–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–7(1–7)
Win 3–4 Nov 2013 Greece F19, Heraklion Futures Hard United Kingdom Luke Bambridge 1–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win 4–4 Nov 2013 Greece F20, Rethymno Futures Hard Serbia Nikola Čačić 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Win 5–4 Feb 2014 Portugal F1, Vale do Lobo Futures Hard Russia Stanislav Vovk 6–1, 6–3
Loss 5–5 Apr 2014 Qatar F2, Doha Futures Hard Switzerland Adrien Bossel 4–6, 1–6
Win 6–5 Sep 2017 Italy F27, Piombino Futures Hard Italy Davide Galoppini 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss 6–6 Sep 2017 Great Britain F4, Nottingham Futures Hard United Kingdom Lloyd Glasspool 7–5, 4–6, 4–6

Doubles: 15 (9 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures Tour (9–6)
Titles by surface
Hard (7–4)
Clay (2–2)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2010 Great Britain F12, Roehampton Futures Hard United Kingdom Neal Skupski United States Ashwin Kumar
France Laurent Rochette
2–6, 7–6(10–8), [6–10]
Win 1–1 Oct 2011 Sweden F6, Falun Futures Hard (i) United Kingdom Daniel Smethurst Sweden Pierre Bonfre
Sweden Viktor Stjern
7–6(7–2), 7–6(8–6)
Win 2–1 Oct 2011 Great Britain F17, Cardiff Futures Hard (i) United Kingdom Sean Thornley United Kingdom Daniel Cox
United Kingdom Daniel Smethurst
6–4, 6–4
Win 3–1 Dec 2011 Turkey F33, Antalya Futures Hard Belgium Joris De Loore Bosnia and Herzegovina Damir Džumhur
Bosnia and Herzegovina Aldin Šetkić
6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Win 4–1 Dec 2011 Turkey F35, Antalya Futures Hard France Gleb Sakharov Italy Antonio Comporto
Italy Thomas Fabbiano
6–2, 6–1
Win 5–1 Jul 2012 Belgium F3, Knokke Futures Clay Belgium Joris De Loore Netherlands Antilles Alexander Blom
Australia Thanasi Kokkinakis
5–7, 7–6(7–3), [10–7]
Loss 5–2 Aug 2012 Great Britain F12, Wrexham Futures Hard United Kingdom Sean Thornley United Kingdom Lewis Burton
United Kingdom Edward Corrie
4–6, 0–6
Loss 5–3 Aug 2012 Belgium F8, Koksijde Futures Clay Belgium Joris De Loore Republic of Ireland Daniel Glancy
Mexico Manuel Sánchez
6–3, 2–6, [8–10]
Loss 5–4 May 2013 Italy F6, Pozzuoli Futures Clay Ukraine Denys Mylokostov United Kingdom Ken Skupski
United Kingdom Neal Skupski
3–6, 3–6
Win 6–4 Jun 2013 Spain F15, Madrid Futures Clay United Kingdom Alexander Ward Germany Richard Becker
Italy Lorenzo Giustino
6–3, 2–6, [10–5]
Loss 6–5 Nov 2013 Greece F18, Heraklion Futures Hard United Kingdom Luke Bambridge Serbia Marko Djokovic
Spain Carlos Gómez-Herrera
1–6, 7–6(7–3), [11–13]
Win 7–5 Nov 2013 Greece F19, Heraklion Futures Hard United Kingdom Luke Bambridge Germany Andreas Mies
Germany Oscar Otte
6–3, 7–5
Win 8–5 Mar 2014 Greece F1, Heraklion Futures Hard Greece Alexandros Jakupovic Serbia Nikola Čačić
Serbia Ilija Vucic
6–1, 3–6, [10–5]
Loss 8–6 Apr 2014 Qatar F3, Doha Futures Hard United Kingdom Joshua Ward-Hibbert Chinese Taipei Chen Ti
South Africa Ruan Roelofse
1–6, 1–6
Win 9–6 Jul 2014 Great Britain F12, Manchester Futures Hard United Kingdom George Morgan United Kingdom Edward Corrie
United Kingdom Joshua Ward-Hibbert
7–6(7–4), 4–6, [10–6]

Junior titles

Junior Grand Slams: 1 (1–0)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner2011US OpenHardCzech Republic Jiří Veselý5–7, 6–3, 6–4

Youth Olympics 1 (1–0)

Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 20 August 2010 Youth Olympics, Singapore Hard Czech Republic Jiří Veselý Russia Victor Baluda
Russia Mikhail Biryukov
6–3, 6–1

Junior Doubles: 0 (0–2)

Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up1.13 September 2010US OpenHardCzech Republic Jiří VeselýPeru Duilio Beretta
Ecuador Roberto Quiroz
1–6, 5–7
Runner-up2.3 July 2011WimbledonGrassCzech Republic Jiří VeselýUnited Kingdom George Morgan
Croatia Mate Pavić
6–3, 4–6, 5–7

Performance timelines

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.

Singles

Tournament2011201220132014Career SRCareer W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 0/0 0–0
French Open A A A A 0/0 0–0
Wimbledon Q2 1R A Q2 0/1 0–1
US Open A A A A 0/0 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0/1 0–1
Career statistics
Tournaments played 1 2 0 0 Career total: 3
Titles 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals reached 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Overall win–loss 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 0/3 0–3
Win % 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Year end ranking 701 431 406

Doubles

Current through 2012 Wimbledon Championships.

Tournament20112012Career S/RCareer W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 0/0 0–0
French Open A A 0/0 0–0
Wimbledon Q1 1R 0/1 0–1
US Open A A 0/0 0–0
Summer Olympics Not held A 0/0 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0/1 0–1
Career statistics
Tournaments played 0 1 Career total: 1
Titles 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals reached 0 0 Career total: 0
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–1 0/1 0–1
Win % 0% 0% 0% 0%
Year end ranking 477

Education

Golding was educated at Newland House School, an independent school in Twickenham in south west London.[21]

He attended Ganeass Educational Support Services from 2003 to 2010. During that time he achieved five GCSEs by the time he was 14, going on to complete three A levels before the age of 17.[22]

Acting career

Golding's earliest appearance was on television in a commercial for Vauxhall Motors, as a two-year-old baby in 1996. After a small part in a stage version of Wind in the Willows in 1997, his next television role was in 1998 as Nat[23] in the first two episodes of the wartime romantic drama Coming Home, which starred Keira Knightley.[24]

Golding's first film project was as one of four small boys in Mike Leigh's award-winning[25] 2002 comedy drama All or Nothing.[26] His biggest film role to date then came in The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby, a tale of the story of Greyfriars Bobby, a child who takes on the responsibility of a policeman's dog after his death, and who has to win the battle with authority to save the dog's life. Though casting began in 2002, the film was much delayed due to problems with the funding.[27] Shooting largely took place during 2004–05, and the film was released in France on 11 May 2005, Italy in July 2005, the USA on 29 October 2005 and at the Children's Film Festival in the UK on 16 November 2005.[28]

In 2003 Golding portrayed Jeremy Potts in another stage show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in London's West End. In the same year, he appeared as one of the children in Ibsen's play, Brand, which starred Ralph Fiennes and was directed by Adrian Noble.[29]

In March 2004, Golding made an appearance as a young customer in "Elephants and Hens", episode 2 of the third season of Black Books, the television comedy series about a dysfunctional bookshop owner, played by Dylan Moran.[30] Then, in April of the same year, he took the part of Tom Dawson in the fifth episode of the Carlton Television production, Murder in Suburbia, in which Gwyneth Strong played his mother Pat.[31] Finally in 2004, he provided the voice of Xath in the English version of the animated puppet fantasy Strings, co-produced by Birdpic Limited in association with Scandinavian partnerships.[32]

In June 2008, Golding appeared in the BBC Three TV documentary Child Stars, featuring three promising youngsters with outstanding talent and ambition.[33] However, he has forgone further advancement as an actor to concentrate on a possible tennis career.[34]

Filmography

Personal life

Golding lives in London with his partner, former tennis professional and now tennis coach Marta Sirotkina.

References

  1. Youngest ever junior British number one: BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  2. Playing tennis for the Esporta Riverside Club Archived 11 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 2004: Esporta.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  3. "Serving up future stars": Newsquest's ThisIsHertfordshire website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  4. The Aberdeen Cup 2005 (tennis): AboutAberdeen.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  5. Golding wins, but England lose: BBC Sport website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  6. Impressing Andy Murray? Yes, according to the Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  7. Ariel Winter Grand Prix 2006, semi-finalist: Falmouth Packet website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  8. Bournemouth Open (Boys 14) at the West Hants Club: CoreTennis.net website. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  9. 6–3, 6–0 victory for Golding, against David Wright, at the Bournemouth Open: CoreTennis.net website. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  10. 6–0, 6–0 victory for Golding, against Alexander France, in the Frutina Westway Winter Tournament: LTA website. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  11. 6–3, 6–1 win over Zack Evenden, Rickmansworth Junior Tournament (18 & Under Boys Singles) Final: LTA website. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  12. Doubles success partnering Nick Jones, Scottish Junior International Championships, July 2008: ITFTennis.com website. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  13. Golding beats Jason Kubler at Wimbledon: Wimbledon.org website. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  14. Defeats Renzo Olivo to reach Wimbledon Junior semi finals: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  15. "Golding hits form at Youth Games". BBC News. 16 August 2010.
  16. ATP. "Oliver Golding Playing Activity 2012". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  17. Steinberg, Jacob (25 June 2012). "Wimbledon 2012". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  18. Rising tennis star who quit sport, Oli Golding, says it's too hard to find places to play tennis in London: Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  19. Finding a new job after hanging up the tennis racquet: BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  20. "Tennis faces battle to end match-fixing, says British player Oli Golding". 11 October 2017.
  21. Olympic Hopeful Oliver Golding Left Film Set to Join the Tennis Set London Evening StandardThis Is London. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  22. "Ganeass.co.uk".
  23. Playing Nat (Nathaniel) in Coming Home: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  24. Coming Home (1998 TV series), as Nathaniel: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  25. All or Nothing (2002 TV film), awards won: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  26. All or Nothing (small boy): BFI.org.uk website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  27. The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005 film), as Ewan Adams: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  28. Release info, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  29. Brand (2003 stage play): Curtain Up.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  30. Black Books (2004 TV series), as a young customer: IMDB.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  31. Murder in Suburbia (2004 TV series), as Tom Dawson: TV.com website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  32. Strings (2004 animated film), English voice of Xath: BFI.org.uk website. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  33. Appearance in BBC Three documentary ("Child Stars", June 2008): BBC TV Listings. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  34. Gave up acting to concentrate on tennis: Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
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