Mills was himself an accomplished
tennis player. At the age of 17 he was the senior county champion in his home county of
Lancashire, and he reached the last 16 in the men's singles at Wimbledon on two occasions. Partnering compatriot
Mark Cox he reached the semifinals of the
1966 Wimbledon doubles event. Mills was also the first man in the history of the
Davis Cup to win a match with the scoreline 6–0, 6–0, 6–0, completing the match against Joseph Offenheim in just 32 minutes. Mills was the first Englishman to defeat
Rod Laver in 1961 at the
London Hard Court Championships when the Australian came to Britain. In 1965, he won the Dutch Covered Courts Championships, defeating
Roger Taylor in the semifinal and
Bobby Wilson in the final. The following year he became a professional tennis coach and played matches on the professional tour. Mills was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
1996 Birthday Honours for services to lawn tennis, and promoted to
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the
2006 New Year Honours for services to sport. ==Personal life and death==