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

A tennis court on the street in Tokyo.

As night fell, the dim yellow glow of the streetlights spilled onto the slightly worn-out plastic track.

Kagura Ijin and Tezuka Kunimitsu walked into the court side by side. Without exchanging any pleasantries, they took out their rackets from their tennis bags and headed straight for the sides of the net.

"Tezuka-kun, guess! Heads or tails?"

Kagura Ichijin stood his racket upright on the ground, and with a flick of his wrist, the racket began to spin rapidly like a top.

"just."

Tezuka Kunimitsu's voice was cold, his eyes fixed on the spinning racket.

"Smack."

The racket fell to the ground, and Kagura Ichijin looked down at the logo at the bottom of the handle—face down, reversed.

"Looks like luck is on my side."

Kagura Ichijin picked up his racket, a slight smile playing on his lips, and turned to walk towards the baseline service area.

Tezuka Kunimitsu quietly retreated to the baseline and assumed a receiving stance.

"Bang!"

Without any probing, Kagura Ijin immediately launched a full-force flat serve!

The tennis ball, like a bullet fired from a gun, whistled through the air and crashed into Tezuka Kunimitsu's half of the court before bouncing violently against the guardrail.

"15-0!"

"..."

Looking at the still trembling guardrail behind him, Tezuka Kunimitsu's eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses.

Kagura Ijin's serve speed exceeded 195km/h!

This person, who became the Yamabuki club president in his first year, truly lives up to his reputation.

"Bang!"

The second ball followed immediately.

Tezuka Kunimitsu reacted extremely quickly this time, pushing off with his feet and rushing towards the landing point.

However, the tennis ball was too fast. Even though he stretched his arm as far as he could, he could only watch helplessly as the yellow streak of light swept past the edge of his racket.

"30-0!"

Kagura Ijin stood on the service line, his eyes becoming increasingly focused.

He knew that against an opponent of Tezuka Kunimitsu's caliber, any lapse in concentration could be exploited as an opportunity for a counterattack.

"Bang!"

The third goal!

This time, Tezuka Kunimitsu finally caught up!

Just as the tennis ball was about to fly through the air, his racket precisely intercepted it.

However, at the moment the racket makes contact with the ball, an incredibly heavy impact travels up the handle and straight to the wrist.

"Snapped!"

The racket slipped from his hand and spun as it flew away.

"40-0!"

"He caught it already? As expected of Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Seeing this, Kagura Ichijin was not disappointed at all; instead, he showed a hint of excitement.

Although the racket was knocked away, it also shows that Tezuka Kunimitsu has adapted to his serve.

National-level competitors are indeed not that simple.

To force Tezuka Kunimitsu to unleash his full power, we need to push harder!

"Out!"

Perhaps due to an excessive pursuit of speed and power, Kagura Ijin exerted too much force on the fourth ball, causing it to go directly out of bounds.

"It seems we were in a bit of a rush."

Kagura Ichijin took a deep breath and tossed the ball again.

"Bang!"

The ball was still powerful, but Tezuka Kunimitsu was prepared.

He gripped the racket with both hands, steadily withstood the blow, and returned the ball.

However, Kagura Ijin had already rushed to the net.

"boom!"

A relentless, high-pressure smash at the net!

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 1-0!"

"Kagura-kun, you weren't using your full strength just now, were you?"

Tezuka Kunimitsu picked up his racket, his brow furrowed slightly, and stared sharply at the boy opposite him.

Although he caught that ball, he could sense that Kagura Ichijin was holding back.

"Of course, you weren't taking it seriously either, were you?"

Kagura Ichijin shrugged and looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu with a half-smile.

"Just as I thought."

Tezuka Kunimitsu sighed, adjusted his glasses, and his expression became serious.

The second game, his serve.

"Bang!"

A serve with strong spin.

Kagura Ijin easily returned the ball, but as soon as it left his racket, he sensed something was wrong.

He subconsciously looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu, only to see that the other man was standing motionless in the center of the baseline.

"Bang!"

The tennis ball flew over the net, but instead of bouncing up as usual, it seemed to be guided by an invisible hand, tracing a strange arc and automatically flying back to Tezuka Kunimitsu's hand.

Kunimitsu Tezuka didn't even need to move an inch to swing his racket and return the ball.

"Tezuka Domain, huh? At least you're getting serious now."

Kagura Ichijin's eyes lit up.

By applying a specific spin to the ball, Tezuka Kunimitsu can draw the opponent's return shot back to his side no matter where it goes, thus gaining control of the entire court. This is Tezuka Zone, the signature technique of Tezuka Kunimitsu!

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

The two engaged in a fierce baseline rally. No matter how Kagura Ikjin changed the angle and landing point, the tennis ball would eventually obediently return to Tezuka Kunimitsu's side.

Finally, after dozens of rounds of back-and-forth, Tezuka Kunimitsu seized the moment when Kagura Ijin was caught off guard and scored with a precise cross-court shot.

"15-0!"

"That's interesting."

Kagura Ichijin looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu with eyes full of admiration.

To be able to control the rotation to such an astounding degree, in the entire junior high school world, probably only Tezuka Kunimitsu can do it.

but……

"Bang!"

Tezuka Kunimitsu serves again, and it's still a ball with strong spin.

This time, Kagura Ichijin didn't hit the ball with the racket face. Instead, he flipped his wrist and slammed the tennis ball hard with the edge of the racket.

"Snapped!"

The tennis ball, subjected to uneven force, flew over the net with irregular spin, bounced off the court after landing, and did not return to Tezuka's side.

"15-15!"

"It really worked."

Kagura Ichijin smiled slightly.

While Tezuka's domain is powerful, it is not invincible.

Tezuka Zone will be disabled if you hit the ball with the racket frame to disrupt its original spin.

"They actually used this method..."

A hint of surprise flashed in Tezuka Kunimitsu's eyes.

While hitting the ball with the racket frame can disable Tezuka's zone, it can easily lead to mistakes and giving away points if one is not careful. Kagura Ichijin actually dared to use such a risky move.

"Bang!"

Tezuka serves again, still trying to maintain his Tezuka Zone.

Kagura Ijin used the same trick again, knocking the ball back with the frame of his racket.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"15-30!"

After a long and drawn-out battle, Kagura Ikjin managed to snatch the point from Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"Tezuka-kun, are you done warming up?"

The match continued, but Kagura Ijin suddenly stopped moving.

He looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was still holding the racket with his right hand, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"Shouldn't you be serious? I know you're left-handed."

Kagura Ichijin's tone carried a hint of doubt and dissatisfaction. Was Tezuka Kunimitsu being too arrogant? He clearly had many moves left unused.

"..."

Tezuka Kunimitsu remained silent, his eyes behind his glasses flickering slightly, and his right hand holding the racket trembled slightly.

"Tezuka-kun, could it be that your left hand...?"

Seeing that Tezuka Kunimitsu had not responded for a long time, Kagura Ichijin suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and his expression changed drastically.

He suddenly leaped over the net, rushed in front of Tezuka Kunimitsu, and stared intently at Tezuka Kunimitsu's left arm.

"Hmm... there's a problem with my left hand."

Tezuka Kunimitsu instinctively turned to the side, trying to hide it, but seeing Kagura Ichijin's all-knowing eyes, he finally sighed helplessly.

Why didn't you say so sooner!

Kagura Ichijin looked at Tezuka's calm face, even though he was injured, and felt a mix of emotions.

He hadn't expected that incident to have already happened. Tezuka Kunimitsu had only been at Seigaku for a little over a month, and he had already injured his elbow with a racket by an upperclassman.

"Forget it, let's not play anymore, Tezuka. Since you're injured, just rest and recover. Don't push yourself too hard. Anyway... those old-fashioned guys at Seigaku won't let you play this year."

Kagura Ichijin shook his head, decisively turned around and walked towards the rest chair, saying as he packed up his racket.

He put the racket in his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and waved to Tezuka.

"Let's go back to the sushi restaurant. Those guys have probably almost finished all the meat."

"Kagura-kun... I hope you can keep my injury a secret. I don't want Oishi and the others to worry about me."

As Tezuka Kunimitsu watched Kagura Ichijin's dashing figure disappear into the distance, a warm feeling welled up inside him.

He quickly caught up with her, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped. But once you're healed, you'll have to make up for the match you didn't finish."

Kagura Ichijin waved his hand without turning his head.

"no problem."

Tezuka Kunimitsu pushed up his glasses, a very faint smile curving his lips.