Great Britain’s Dahnon Ward and Lizzy De Greef of the Netherlands have been named as the recipients of the International Tennis Federation’s first Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year Awards.

Announced by the ITF in January 2020, the Junior of the Year Award recognises young wheelchair tennis players who both impress with their results on court and embody the principles of leadership and sportsmanship off-court.

Nominees for the inaugural awards were sent to the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee earlier this year, and after careful consideration of the shortlist, Ward and De Greef emerged as worthy winners.

Ward has impressed on both the junior and professional circuits over the past two seasons, winning the junior singles titles at the Open D’Amiens ITF 1 and Abingdon Futures in 2019, and the Bolton Indoor ITF Junior Series in February of this year.

Currently at No.3 in the Cruyff Foundation Junior Wheelchair Tennis rankings, the 15-year-old already has an impressive 37-13 win-loss record to his name, as well as a silver medal won with the Great Britain junior team at the 2019 BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Israel.

“I'm very proud to receive this award,” said Ward. “I am determined to keep working hard to continue to improve and progress. Massive thanks to all those who have supported me on my journey so far.”

De Greef rose to world No.1 in the girls' rankings following her Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters triumph at Les Petits As in Tarbes in February, the 16-year-old’s first international title. She also demonstrated a significant commitment to the Dutch wheelchair tennis community, playing her part in clinics at her home club, involving herself in a variety of projects run by the Esther Vergeer Foundation, and participating in a 24-hour tennis marathon to raise money for ALS research.

“I am very happy and surprised to win this award,” De Greef said. “I see the award as an extra motivation to go for it in 2021. I hope that 2021 will be a year with a lot of tournaments where I can win more junior events and get some experience on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.”

Both Ward and De Greef serve as a role models to younger athletes, setting a positive example with their work ethic and eagerness to learn in practice, marking them out as a future ambassadors for the sport.

Martin Corrie, chairman of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee, said: “It is an absolute pleasure in the first year of our junior awards to have two such high class candidates who are such great players and who exhibit all of the values of the ITF as they travel on their journeys around the world inspiring others. I wish them all the very best and look forward to following their careers in wheelchair tennis.”