Months after lifting a doubles slam in Melbourne, WTA star Taylor Townsend recently accomplished a rare feat. She became the first tennis mom to reach the No.1 spot in women’s doubles ranking, not to mention her Citi Open triumph in doubles a few weeks ago. It seems the 2025 season has been a fairytale for the 27-year-old. But as they say, results are the fruition of effort. In Townsend’s case, this holds true. She has proved her mettle in all the tournaments. The reason behind the consistency? Her coach just spilled the beans. However, things took a hilarious turn after Townsend’s unexpected intervention.
Her trainer, John Williams, recently talked about the work ethic of the WTA pro. He seemed quite impressed with the No.1 doubles player’s consistent drive to do better. He broke it down by saying, “First and foremost, her work ethic. Second, her discipline.” Elaborating on the work ethic part, he said, “When it comes to what she’s willing to do, she’ll do anything I ask her to do at pretty much any time. I could call her up at 2:00 in the morning. Wake her up from a great night sleep and say, ‘We need to go downstairs and do some cardio.’” Townsend would never say no, “And she’ll say, ‘Okay give me 20 minutes.’” Per Williams, “That is extreme. But that’s the level of dedication that’s required. If you want to really become your best, whatever that means, wherever that ends up, right?”
Mentioning her second-best trait, which is discipline. “And if I say, ‘I need you to do this, this, this…and this’, then she will make sure that all of those boxes are ticked.” However, to his surprise, “sometimes she gets the order wrong (laughs).” But still, she ensures that “every box has been ticked. And I don’t have to micromanage which is trust based on her consistent level of performance.” To her trainer’s remarks, Townsend had a funny reaction. She wrote in the comments, “ the order is irrelevant”
Townsend’s player-coach bond with Williams has been highly effective so far. Under his tutelage, Townsend has built on her strengths this season. After clinching the Citi Open title with her doubles partner Zhang Shuai, she was on the verge of winning her second straight WTA trophy. Earlier this month, Townsend and Zhang managed to enter the final of the Canadian Open. Unfortunately, they eventually lost the crown to the formidable pair of Coco Gauff and McCartney Kessler.
Clearly, Williams’ presence beside Townsend has brought out the desired results. Even when she’s not winning a title, she’s impressing with her on-court skills. The credit for this brilliant association goes to Townsend herself.
How did John Williams become Taylor Townsend’s permanent coach?
Nearly two weeks ago, John Williams spoke at length about his role in Taylor Townsend’s professional journey,especially regarding his inclusion on the team. He had an interesting story to share on the same. While he was already working with her, becoming her permanent trainer wasn’t really in the cards until Townsend herself approached him with the unconventional offer.
At one point, when Townsend blatantly told Williams, he was flabbergasted, “‘I’d like you to coach me.’ And I’m laughing and joking and I’m like, ‘I’ve been coaching you for years. What are you talking about?’ She’s like, ‘No, I want you to be my tennis coach.’ And I said, ‘You do realize I don’t play tennis, right?’”
Taylor Townsend‘s explanation? “I want you to coach me, because the things that you’ve taught me, the questions you’ve asked me… nobody’s ever done those things before.” According to her, it was a much-required “perspective” change that would propel her “back to the top”.
Townsend has fulfilled her goal that she set out to achieve. But the 27-year-old is not ready to hang up the racket just yet. There are still many more milestones to conquer, especially with the upcoming US Open. After winning the Wimbledon last year and the Australian Open this season, Townsend would like to lift her third slam in doubles.
She has it two ways this time. Apart from her women’s doubles campaign, she will also compete in the mixed doubles category in New York. Townsend will join forces with compatriot Ben Shelton. The duo will fight it out against 15 other mixed doubles pairs for the title and the $1 million prize money.
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