[Prince of Tennis] [System story] [Prodigy returns] [Childhood friends] [Sports competition]
When the cutthroat competition in Chinese table tennis drives even the System to run away, I decide to switch sports. ➡️
I awakened my System at six and trained hard for nine years.
At fifteen, a kid my age named Wang Chuqin beat me 3–1.
System:
“Chinese table tennis is too difficult...”
And then... it disappeared.
A year later, my childhood friend Lin Yue tearfully tells me that Li Na has retired.
The missing System suddenly comes back to life:
“Ding! Similar sport detected. System changed to: Tennis Legend System!”
“Big data analysis: Switching sports increases the Host’s odds of becoming a legend by 47 times.”
I look at my childhood friend, crying her eyes out.
“Don’t cry. You can come watch me play from now on.”
On my first day holding a racket, I rub my hand raw, blood staining the grip.
On TV, they’re showing...
“Wang Chuqin, not yet fifteen, has won silver at the U21 championships!”
I stare at the screen, and suddenly my hand doesn’t hurt anymore.
Lin Yue looks at me. “You failed nine times today. But you picked up the ball nine times.”
[Perseverance +15]
Two years later, at the Kunming Open.
With a qualifying wildcard in hand, I stand at the entrance to the professional circuit.
One name on the main-draw list jumps out at me:
Zhou Kai. The prodigy I crushed two years ago is now a rising star on the provincial team.
Lin Yue leans closer. “Are you scared?”
I look at the list and smile.
“What is there to be scared of?”
“I crushed him once two years ago.”
“And now...”
[Zero-Type Serve success rate: 65%. Swallow Returns to Nest unlocked...]
[Zhou Kai, are you ready?]
Coach, my daughter watches Prince of Tennis. The main character, Qingmei, is a ten-year veteran scholar. The old version of the Prince of Tennis anime had almost no special effects; you could easily tell what the balls on someone were, and the male lead repeatedly told her the name of the move was Zero Style, also called Swallow Return, but Qingmei didn't recognize it at all.
In tennis, the first serve must bounce before it can be returned. The protagonist's Zero-style shot doesn't bounce back, so isn't it a foul for them to just chop the ball directly?
A very interesting tennis article, at least not boring. Pretty good.