Who is Ryan Peniston? Wimbledon player's ranking and cancer survival story

British player Ryan Peniston is taking part in Wimbledon 2022. But who is he, and what is his ranking?

Ryan Peniston of Great Britain playing against Steve Johnson during the second round of men's singles at Wimbledon 2022 (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2022 is here with two weeks of world class tennis and strawberries.

Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu are among the British players taking to the grass courts this summer.

But also playing in the grand slam tournament has been wildcard Ryan Peniston.

Ryan Peniston celebrates winning his match on day two of the cinch Championships at The Queen's Club, London.(Steven Paston/PA Wire)

Here’s who he is, his world ranking and all you need to know about the player.

Who is Ryan Peniston? Ranking, age and where he’s from

Ryan Peniston is a professional tennis player from Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

Born to a Malaysian-born mother and half-English half-Irish father, Peniston started playing tennis aged three with his dad.

He went to school in Nice, France, before studying international business at the University of Memphis in the US. While there, he was part of the tennis program, earning All-American honours in both singles and doubles in his senior year.

The 26-year-old is currently ranked 135th in the world for men’s singles. He is 6ft tall and is left-handed.

A relative latecomer to professional tennis, this is his first Wimbledon tournament.

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Ryan Peniston’s cancer survival journey

Ryan Peniston was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, at just one year old.

He had to undergo chemotherapy and surgery to remove a tumor near his stomach, and has said the cancer slowed his growth as a child.

“It changed my life massively and affected my tennis career,” Peniston told Sky, “I started growing really late, not until I was 15 or 16. Everyone else was massive and had huge serves, I was just this little kid trying to get the ball. It gives me a lot of strength now and puts things in perspective sometimes."

He has said he donated the winnings of his first ITF (International Tennis Federation) title to the hospital that treated him, St Bart’s in London.

“Every day is a bonus,” Peniston says on his social media bios.

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