Watch Out Roger Federer, Here Comes Jan
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
5-year old Jan Silva can barely see over the net, but he already has an amazing one-handed backstroke. Dubbed as the Tiger Woods of Tennis, Jan is being heralded the future of American Tennis.
Jan's love for the game began as a baby, while watching world tennis matches. He started hitting foam balls and tennis balls by the time he was one. Jan's babysitter would practice tennis with him every day, and show him photos of champions until he knew them all. By the time he was two he was a big fan of James Blake (currently ranked #14 in the world), and insisted on watching his game over and over. He started to emulate James Blake's strokes, especially his backstroke.
By the age of three, Jan started playing imaginary games with himself, against a glass sliding door. He would even pretend to wipe his "sweaty" face in between shots.
When he turned four, he was invited to be a guest at a Pacific Life ATP Tournament in Indian Wells, California. There he impressed legendary tennis player Jimmy Conners so much, that Jimmy asked Jan's parents permission to include Jan in his instructional tennis video.
While here, he also caught the eye of 2006 Australian Open finalist, Marcos Baghdatis, and his coach Guillaume Peyre, who invited him to train at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France .
The Mouratoglou Academy is the best junior tennis training facility in the world and Jan currently resides there with his family. Jan is the youngest player enrolled at this highly elite academy, which enrolls only a few of the world's best junior tennis players.
Watch out Roger Federrer - here comes Jan! To watch this amazing kid in action, click below:
Cite Article
Geography
Learn Keywords in this Article
173 Comments
cheetahluverover 10 yearsAwww thats so cool! I play tennis and its sooo hard. :)
bigmeloover 10 yearsMe too! It's really fun, isn't it?
happypug12over 10 yearsHey, I play tennis, too! I'm way better at the forehand than the backhand. ; )- bigmeloover 10 yearsThat's really cool! :) People say I have a killer two-handed backhand, though.
- cheetahluverover 10 yearsOh really, me too! I play with my brother and sister (who are like professionals) and every time they hit a ball to my backhand, I just hit it everywhere! And how does a 5 year old hit a one- handed backhand?? Its soooo impossible! :D
- bigmeloover 10 yearsI know, right? He must be incredibly strong!
- Tatover 10 yearsThat's amazing
- matthewover 10 yearsshe is very good she could beat a champion
jamyyyalmost 11 yearsCool, he is better than I am.
zoieeover 10 yearsNo one Is better than any body
- TennisManalmost 11 yearsI really like playing tennis, and I am pretty good, but he would probably beat me, an 11 year old
- Damonalmost 11 yearsRight now I'm ten years old and I hit the ball really hard but when I was five I couldent hit that well
- Iroon Headabout 11 yearsI beat U15 while I'm only 9 years old!
biancaisamazingabout 11 yearsawesome that is realy cool that he can do that at a early age.
doctorwhorocksabout 11 yearscool i am horrible at tennis i am in 5th grade!!!lol- dre dayover 11 yearsOmg this is awesome. i love tennis and this kid is amazing