In the movie Challengers, the character of Patrick Zweig is forced to live out of a car and sleep in the parking lots of tennis clubs as he struggles to make a living as a professional while playing lower-lever tournaments.
For Billy Harris, that is what his early 20s looked like, when he plied his trade on the ITF circuit, the lowest level of men’s professional tennis. “I had a bed in the back of my van with my stringer machine for my racquets and cooked all my meals by the side of the tennis clubs on the road,” said the 30-year-old on the sidelines of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger.
Billy comes from a sporting family from the Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the middle of the Irish Sea which has a population of less than one lakh. His brothers Joe and Tom compete in javelin throw and golf, respectively. While Tom made it to the England U-21 team at one point, Joe went as far as representing the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 — where India’s Neeraj Chopra clinched gold — and 2022.
Billy found his calling in tennis. “We lived near the tennis clubs. In the mornings and evenings, we used to cycle around and play tennis most days. That’s how I started playing with my brothers,” Harris recalled.
He began training under Ian Watson at the Albany Tennis Club before moving to Bisham Abbey in England at the age of 12, where he spent two years training alongside the country’s best players in his age group.
However, Harris was not a standout junior. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 139 in the ITF Junior Rankings and competed in only one junior Grand Slam — Wimbledon in 2013 — where he lost in the round of 32.
Turning professional came with financial challenges, forcing him to save money by travelling to ITF tournaments across Europe in a van. “If you make it to the main draw, that’s enough to get you to the next tournament,” he said.
Harris did not win his first ITF title until 2021, at the age of 26, and he acknowledges that the journey was tough. “Everyone gets frustrated when they have bad weeks. When you’re travelling on your own, it can get lonely. And when things don’t go well, you just have to keep going to the next tournament,” he admitted.
Things improved when Harris became a regular on the ATP Challenger Tour — the second tier of men’s tennis — and no longer had to travel in a van. He also secured sponsorship from Arlo & Jacob, a furniture brand owned by his friend Mark Smith.
Harris enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2024, reaching the semifinals of an ATP 250 event in Eastbourne. He made his Grand Slam main draw debut as a wildcard at Wimbledon and, in September, climbed to a career-high ranking of 101. That same month, he made his Davis Cup debut, helping Great Britain to a 2-1 victory over Finland in the group stage.
“Last year was a great year for me. I went up the rankings and reached a new career-high. And yes, just trying to make the most of the opportunities playing for my country in the Davis Cup. It is a great honour. Experiences like these are why I’m playing,” said Harris.
Harris, however, remains without a permanent coach. Even his father, Geoff, who usually travels with him as a coach, was unable to make it to Chennai due to visa issues.
This is the first Challenger tournament of his career where he is the top seed. Much like his favourite Premier League club, Nottingham Forest — which, to everyone’s surprise, sits in the top four after 24 games — Harris will hope to maintain his upward trajectory and clinch his maiden title.
