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:
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