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Britain's Lily Mills prepares for the Australian Open event with an intellectual disability
As a baby, British woman Lily Mills only had a 50% chance of survival.
The 23-year-old would have been far less likely to achieve what she has since.
Four days after her birth, Mills became seriously ill and was taken to the hospital, where she was placed on a life support machine.
She was diagnosed with meningitis and later septicemia, and if she survived she would suffer severe brain damage, her mother, Tallulah Bayley, was told at the time.
Tennis has given Mills opportunities she probably wouldn't have had otherwise.
Now she's expecting the biggest of these after securing a spot at the Australian Open, where she'll take part in the People With Intellectual Impairment (PWII) tournament.
For Mills, the question of whether tennis is the most important thing in her life is a simple one.
“Yes,” she says without hesitation.
“I don’t do independent travel and through tennis I have a lot more friends.”
“It gives me confidence. It gives me a chance.”
After her illness, Mills was diagnosed with galactosemia, a rare genetic disorder that affects up to one in 45,000 babies and prevents her body from converting galactose into glucose.
Due to the increasingly toxic concentration of galactose in the body, if left untreated, the disease can lead to vomiting, jaundice, brain damage and death.
She also had cognitive impairments, including learning difficulties, short-term memory loss, poor coordination and tremors.
“It was terrible. “It was very, very scary to see her so sick,” her mother Bayley tells ` Sport.
“She was very lonely and sport enriched her life. She feels safe here. It’s their happy place.”
Mills excelled at the Special Olympics – a charity that provides training and competitions for children and adults with learning disabilities, which has facilitated their sporting pursuits.
Her performances led to her receiving a wildcard for the Australian Open, where world stars such as Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek will also compete.
“It is really incredible, [considering] what they told me when she was a baby. She just surprises me every day,” Bayley says.
“Apart from tennis there is nothing else. That made her really happy inside.”
Mills, who won medals at the Special Olympics in 2019 and 2023, trains most days – she also has her own mural near her home in Islington and recently took part in the `'s Sports Personality of the Year awards.
She will soon travel to Melbourne for the second edition of the PWII tournament, which begins on January 26th.
Since Bayley launched a fundraising campaign to cover the cost of Mills' flights, there has been a global response, with the tennis community mobilizing their support and a fellow Special Olympics athlete donating more than £1,000 to ensure they make the trip can.
Although Mills isn't thrilled about the long flight, she is excited about the prospect of competing against the world's best players in her category at a Grand Slam venue.
“You can see the motivation and energy on the pitch,” says her coach Mukember Musa.
“To be honest, it made the coaching process very easy!
“I always see hard work and dedication – she is an inspiration to everyone.”
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