Serving up Success: Tennis Prodigy, 6, Makes His Mark

Feb. 28, 2008— -- He can't even tie his shoelaces, but Jan Silva can punch a one-handed back hand from the baseline, thread a passing shot for a winner and serve across a net over which he can barely see.

Jan is a 6-year-old tennis prodigy with great promise who started playing at age 1, though he's not sure why.

"I don't know, I was just born that way," Jan explained.

His mother Mari, a tennis coach, went into labor on a court in California. Then it wasn't long before Jan picked up a racket. He was hitting balls before he could even walk. Jan's talent has brought the whole family to France, where he is enrolled at a top junior tennis academy just outside of Paris.

Jan inherited his mother's tennis skill. She played top-level tennis back home in Finland. And he got his father Scott's athletic ability. He was a college basketball star.

"With his hard work, athleticism and love of the game, he can do whatever he wants to do in tennis," Scott said of Jan.

At age 4, Jan impressed some greats of the game, including Grand Slam finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who saw Jan knocking a ball around, called his coach and told him, "you have to see this kid."

His coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was blown away. He said that he has never seen anyone with this kind of talent at such a young age.

"I had the feeling that the racket was just part of his body. I mean, he was completely natural with the racket," Mouratoglou said.

So the whole family moved lock, stock and barrel from Sacramento, Calif., to France, where Mouratoglou coaches Jan.

Jan, who said he wants to be tennis player "or a scientist," plays for at least two hours a day and does conditioning for an extra 45 minutes.

Jan's parents try to strike a balance in his life.

"You know, we make sure we keep it fun," Scott Silva said. "If we were forcing it, he wouldn't be happy. He'd walk around here with the meanest look on his face constantly. And he doesn't do that."