Mark's early career
Born in Essex in 1970, Mark’s passion for the game began at an early age, learning tennis with his dad. After turning professional in 1988, he won over 35 matches, and his world ranking as a singles player peaked at number 80.
It was after Mark stepped away from playing professionally that he became a more familiar name in the world of tennis. In 2017, he commented that his move into coaching was more from luck than judgment – his own playing career came to an end after an injury, and he began coaching Silvija Talaja, a Croatian player who was ranked 90 in the world. With Mark’s help, Silvija reached number 17, and went on to reach even greater heights. Mark said of the move, ‘’I thought it was a good idea and it turned out it was.’’