The Prince of Tennis: From Data-Driven Tennis to the Pinnacle of His Career

Late July, Tokyo, Midori no Mori Tennis Park.

With the group stage round-robin tournament concluded, the Jr. Tournament (Youth Championship) officially kicked off under the watchful eyes of countless people.

The top sixteen contestants, who had fought their way through hundreds of elementary school students, are now gathered at the competition venue.

They will decide their fate through the most basic and fair method—drawing lots. The winners will advance to the quarterfinals, while the losers will be eliminated.

"It's ready."

Kagura Ichijin casually pulled a folded piece of paper from the bottomless cardboard box, unfolded it, and saw that it was printed with clear black characters - A3.

He calmly handed the note to the referee in charge of recording, then walked away without lingering, carrying his racket to a secluded, shady corner.

As a formal competition, the Jr. tournament has a strict age grouping system.

For example, in the U12 group he participated in this time, all his opponents were under 12 years old (including 12 years old).

The knockout stage is divided into two groups, A and B, with eight players in each group, and a best-of-three format.

According to the schedule, once all the players have drawn lots, the battles in Group A will begin first.

Once A1 and A2 have decided their match, it will be his turn to face off against A4.

"Bang!"

In the corner, a yellow tennis ball accurately hits a red heart graffiti on the wall.

With a slight flick of his wrist, Kagura Ichijin used the force of the rebound from the wall to send the racket flying through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After trying more than a dozen balls, Kagura Ichijin began to move backward rhythmically.

The gravel under his feet made a slight grinding sound as he retreated from the initial seven or eight meters to more than ten meters away.

After repeating the swing hundreds of times, Kagura Ijin's eyes narrowed, and his arm muscles suddenly tensed, directly increasing the power of his return shot.

However, only two shots later...

"Smack."

The tennis ball grazed the edge of the graffiti, deviating from its intended trajectory and failing to accurately hit the bullseye.

Watching the tennis ball bounce back again, this time Kagura Ichijin did not swing his racket.

After bending down to pick up the tennis ball from the ground, he turned and walked towards the noisy competition field.

The warm-up is almost over; it's time to go back and observe those so-called "opponents."

"Game, Satoru Kadowaki, 4-4!"

When Kagura Yijin returned to the edge of the arena, the scoreboard showed that players A1 and A2 had been battling it out for eight rounds.

He had no recollection of the A1 player, but the A2 player did make him raise an eyebrow.

If my memory serves me right, this person is none other than the future captain of Makinofuji Middle School—Satoru Kadowaki.

……

"Game, Satoru Kadowaki, 6-4!"

……

"Match ended, 6-3, 6-4, Satoru Kadowaki wins!"

After a fierce tug-of-war over the bottom line, Kadowaki Satoru ultimately prevailed.

With the referee raising his arm to deliver the final verdict, the smoke from the first match in Group A finally cleared.

"It looks like he'll be my opponent in tomorrow's quarterfinals."

Watching Kadowaki Satoru clench his fists, roar, and cheer on the field, Kagura Ichijin remained unmoved, silently reciting the system in his mind.

After observing closely for the past two rounds, the system should have already grasped the data on Kadowaki Satoru.

Satoru Kadowaki (Sixth grade, elementary school)

Speed: 2

Power: 1.5

Stamina: 1.5

Spirit: 2

Technology: 2.5

Total: 9.5

Seeing the five dimensions score of less than 10, Kagura Ichijin's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

The top 16 were indeed full of hidden talents, but clearly, Kadowaki Satoru was an easy target.

He had just seen the lottery results: A7 was Yukimura Seiichi, B6 was Sanada Genichiro, and B8 was Yanagi Renji.

These three players not only maintained a perfect record in the previous round-robin tournament, but also did not lose a single game, making them the undisputed favorites to win the championship.

In comparison, Kadowaki Satoru is indeed not a threat.

"The second match is officially beginning. Please welcome Kagura Ikjin and Saeki Kojiro to the stage!"

As the referee's clear voice came over the loudspeaker, Kagura Ichijin picked up his tennis bag and walked straight onto the court.

After placing the bag securely next to the lounge chair, he took out his racket and walked to the net.

Through the net, he met those gentle yet sharp eyes—Saeki Kojiro.

Kagura Ichijin knew his opponent all too well.

This silver-haired boy from Chiba is Fuji Syusuke's childhood friend who has played basketball with him since they were little, and is the future vice-captain of Rokkaku Junior High School.

"For or against?"

The two stood still, and the referee took out a coin and tossed it into the air.

The silver metal sheet tumbled and shimmered in the sunlight before being swiftly caught in the referee's palm.

A coin toss determines whether a player serves or plays on the sidelines. In evenly matched contests, this coin toss can often influence the momentum at the start of the game.

"I choose the correct answer."

Saeki Kojiro smiled, his tone resolute.

He didn't really care about the result of the coin toss.

In his eyes, Kagura Ichijin was just an unknown player whose name he had never heard of.

With his dynamic vision and ball control skills, he should be able to end the battle easily.

"Then I'll choose the opposite."

Seeing the confident Saeki Kojiro, Kagura Ichijin shrugged and chose the remaining option.

"It's a front-facing shot, Mr. Saeki Kojiro. You have the right to choose your serve or the court first."

The referee slowly removed his palm, revealing the human head pattern on the coin.

"I'll choose to serve, that way I can end the match sooner."

Saeki Kojiro turned and walked towards the finish line without the slightest hesitation.

"..."

Kagura Ichijin raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and silently walked to the area for receiving serves.

……

The competition has officially begun.

Saeki Kojiro stood at the baseline, gently tapping the tennis ball with his left hand, his gaze instantly sharpening.

He suddenly tossed the ball high into the air, his knees slightly bent, his whole body like a fully drawn bow, swinging it swiftly!

"Heavy artillery!"

"boom!"

There weren't any fancy moves, but the moment the tennis ball made contact with the racket, an amazing sound erupted.

The small yellow ball shot straight towards the right corner of Kagura Ijin's court.

"15-0!"

Kagura Ichijin was still moving when the ball bounced off his feet and flew out of bounds.

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 1-0!"

The referee announced the score without hesitation and then signaled for the change of serve.

"..."

Kagura Ichijin stands on the service line with the ball in his hand.

He took a deep breath and tossed the ball into the air.

"Bang!"

The racket struck the tennis ball with a dull thud.

"...How did they even make it to the round of 16?"

Saeki Kojiro, who was already waiting in the receiving area, looked at the tennis ball slowly flying through the air and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a powerless serve in a match. The ball speed was probably less than 80 km/h.