Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams. Tennis stars all before the age of 20.
However, there was one thing even they couldn’t do: play tennis without the occasional grunt.
It’s a facet of many tennis player’s games, and often a huge ear sore to tennis scouts. In fact, in 2024, a reported 60% of tennis scouts said they wouldn’t give a player a shot if they grunted too loud.1
Enter: Mark “The Silent Assassin” Willard.
Willard, a 16-year-old prodigy, has landed on the radar of tennis scouts all over the world, not due to his skill level, but because he can play without releasing a single grunt.
One scout who saw Willard play flagged his 48 mph serve as cause for concern, but said that his ability to play an entire match without grunting made up for it.
“We can teach you to improve your serve, your backhand, and your footwork, but what we can’t teach is what Mark does. It’s one of those intangible skills,” said the scout.
While tennis scouts are enthralled by Willard’s unique skill, tennis fan’s reception to Mark “The Silent Assassin” Willard a bit different:
“To be honest, we don’t give a shit if a player grunts or not. We don’t care.”
- John R.
“This guys sucks. Why is his serve so slow?”
- Alexis P.
“He’s a fraud. I heard a little noise come out of him on one return. Not sure if you could call it a full on grunt, but it was something.”
- Layla M.
Nope. Made up.