Marcus Willis
June 20, 2024
“I played badminton from the age of six because my mom used to play competitively so I used to go and watch her play after school. Then my badminton coach started doing mini tennis and it came to a point where I’d play tennis with him every Tuesday. I really enjoyed it. In the end, I had to choose between tennis and badminton. I picked it up quickly. By the time I was 16, 17, I played for Britain in Summer Cup events. Then, I was the number one junior under 18. Between the ages of 21 and 25 I was massively out of shape. I didn’t play a full schedule. I didn’t quite have it together at that age, I suppose. There are certain surfaces I’d be dangerous on, but I think I was a bit lost. I didn’t really have anyone around me. I just didn’t know quite how to live my life off the court in my spare time. Sometimes I find it funny looking back, and then sometimes I’m like, “Oh, mate, if I knew now how to handle it, then it would have been very different.” But do I have regrets? No. Did I learn?
“I played badminton from the age of six because my mom used to play competitively so I used to go and watch her play after school. Then my badminton coach started doing mini tennis and it came to a point where I’d play tennis with him every Tuesday. I really enjoyed it. In the end, I had to choose between tennis and badminton. I picked it up quickly. By the time I was 16, 17, I played for Britain in Summer Cup events. Then, I was the number one junior under 18. Between the ages of 21 and 25 I was massively out of shape. I didn’t play a full schedule. I didn’t quite have it together at that age, I suppose. There are certain surfaces I’d be dangerous on, but I think I was a bit lost. I didn’t really have anyone around me. I just didn’t know quite how to live my life off the court in my spare time. Sometimes I find it funny looking back, and then sometimes I’m like, “Oh, mate, if I knew now how to handle it, then it would have been very different.” But do I have regrets? No. Did I learn?