Quiet Confidence: Ezra Blissard’s Rise to Prominence

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HOUSTON, Miss. (WCBI) — In a sport dominated by Europeans, one Mississippi high school senior is aiming to defy the odds.

Ezra going through practice on the Houston High tennis courts.

Houston Hilltopper Ezra Blissard is a wizard on the tennis court.

From his monster serves, to his devastating forehands and his slick, sliding shots; Ezra has all the tools to be a big-time player.

It’s his big time dreams that drive him.

Those all came from another tennis player, his club coach. That coach is his father, Mike, who watched him grow up on the courts you see playing when he was just two years old.

“It’s an honor to have a child to take up your game and try to emulate you,” Mike Blissard said. “He’s far exceeded anything I ever did in high school or college. He passed me two years ago as far as talent goes. He’s passed the highest point I ever got.”

“When I tell people I want to be a pro or top 100 player in the world, people look at me like I have three heads,” Ezra Blissard said. “But my dad has always taught me to dream big. Those goals are good. Anything is possible with a lot of hard work and dedication.”

That hard work and dedication is noticeable immediately when you walk out on the court to see Ezra practice.

Ezra and his father & coach, Mike.

That work ethic comes from competitive parents, who both played sports in college and it’s recognized by his high school coach as well. He see the Topper senior putting his hometown on the tennis map.

“Being in Houston, tennis isn’t always a big thing,” coach Adam Gentry said. “It’s good to see a kid that can play that sport at the next level. I’m very proud of him. He has a tremendous work ethic and he’s always playing in tournaments on the weekend and throughout the week. He practices with college kids all the time during the week.”

“Some people may spend four to five hours on the court a day and they don’t get the quality I get,” Ezra said. “Even though I go two to three hours a day, my drive makes me focus harder.”

There’s a quiet confidence about Ezra, you can see it in his eyes.

A State Championship in Mississippi is only the beginning for him and what’s to come is even bigger as Ezra will have the opportunity to visit historic Wimbledon in June with the John Newcomb Tennis Academy’s UK Touring Team.

It’s a special handful of high school students who will get to play on and witness the legendary Wimbledon grass courts for the first time.

Ezra was just two years old when he started playing tennis.

“I think I will be in awe,” Ezra says. “I might pass out. It will be the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. Getting to see the biggest stage in all of tennis, I’m going to be in shock.”

And up until now, no one has stopped Ezra Blissard’s dreams.

Don’t expect that to happen because the love of the game, that can never be stopped.

“The love of the sport and the passion takes over for me,” Ezra said. “You have to work hard and it’s tough but to me it doesn’t feel tough. It feels like what I love to do and what I want to do. It comes naturally to me.”

So one day in the future, in late July, maybe we will see Ezra back in Wimbledon.

And one day, maybe we will seen an American hoist the Silver Gilt Cup on those famous grass courts.

And maybe, just maybe, he will be from Houston, Mississippi.