Thwack!!
Game, Kamikawa, 1–0.
Change sides!
The umpire raised a hand to signal.
In tennis, the players changed sides when the total number of games they had played was odd. After changing sides, they had 90 seconds to rest, recover their strength, and listen to their coaches' tactical instructions.
When a match reached 6–6 and went into a tiebreak, the players had to change sides as soon as their cumulative score reached 6 points or a multiple of 6—that is, 6, 12, 18, and so on.
There was no rest period during a tiebreak changeover.
In a best-of-three match, the players had 120 seconds to rest after each set.
"Pant, pant..."
Sitting on the chair, Shishido panted nonstop.
The game had seemed to end quickly at 1–0, but in reality, starting with the second ball, Kamikawa had kept returning shots close to the baseline. All that running back and forth had drained twice as much of Shishido's energy as usual.
Shishido had lost a point or two at the JR Tournament before, but never like today, when he'd been unable to put up any resistance and had lost four points in a row. The defeat had dealt a serious blow to his pride.
All I have to do now is hold my serve.
He's been targeting my weakest diagonal and keeping a firm grip on the pace of the match.
Judging by the power behind his returns, this guy isn't especially strong.
And since I'm serving, I have the initiative.
Shishido stood up, took a tennis ball from the ball kid beside him, and walked toward the service area.
With that in mind, he took his position at the service line and bounced the ball. Then he caught it and tossed it into the air.
He bent his knees, keeping his eyes fixed on the pale yellow ball. The moment it started to fall, he pushed off with both legs and swung forward with all his strength, leaning into the shot.
Thwack!!
The ball rocketed away. Shishido stepped forward, charging toward the net.
The spectators outside the court noticed his movement, too.
"Serve and volley!"
"That's right. Whenever he's serving, he can charge toward the net without hesitation, and nothing can stop him on the way."
Serve and volley was a style of play in which a player used their serve to create an opportunity to rush the net. It was the favorite and most effective attacking strategy of a net player.
With volleys at the net, they could put pressure on their opponent and force cautious baseline shots—or catch them off guard with a drop shot to score directly.
"He's already at the net!"
Everyone's eyes followed Shishido as he reached the net before the ball even landed.
His serve had plenty of power, and he'd rushed the net at impressive speed.
Thwack!!
The ball landed in the service box on Kamikawa's left.
His control wasn't quite as terrifying as expected, but he'd still aimed for the edge near the center line.
Shishido had already reached the net. The serve was fast, and so was his movement.
The ball bounced.
Kamikawa raised his racket.
A lob.
The ball sailed right over Shishido's head.
At that moment, Shishido didn't hesitate. He leaped forward and swung his racket with all his might. The ball slammed down like a cannonball. Just as the corners of Shishido's mouth lifted, Kamikawa returned it in a bizarre fashion.
Whoosh~
Before Shishido's feet had even touched the ground, he saw a streak of pale yellow light pass over his head.
Thwack!!
The ball landed behind him, in bounds.
"Gulp..."
As if he'd realized something, he instinctively swallowed and turned to look at the ball rolling to one side.
Kamikawa was half-kneeling on the ground, both arms spread wide like wings. He slowly rose to his feet.
"0–15!!"
For a moment, the umpire didn't react.
Only after a long pause did he call the score.
Could a primary school student really pull off a shot like that?!
That shot!
A flicker of disbelief rose in the spectators' minds.
They'd imagined all sorts of ways to return the ball, but not this one. That one-of-a-kind return had left them feeling defeated.
How could a primary school student hit such a spectacular shot?
Clap...
Someone suddenly began applauding. In an instant, thunderous applause rang out from the spectators.
Nothing else mattered—this shot alone deserved that thunderous applause.
"That was incredible tennis. Ever since that Golden Generation entered junior high—and now that they're in their third year—we haven't seen a shot this spectacular."
A middle-aged man held a video camera. The name tag on his chest read "Inoue."
He was Inoue, a reporter for a renowned tennis magazine.
He'd introduced most of Japan's well-known junior high and primary school players to the public.
And today's JR Tournament had been a real treat for him.
"This year's JR Tournament is packed with talent."
"And it's not just Court B2. The two matches in Group A are packed with talent, too."
"Is a new Golden Generation about to emerge?!"
Inoue took a deep breath and kept snapping pictures of Kamikawa.
He'd already imagined today's headline.
"I've wanted to try that for ages."
Kamikawa stood up with a light laugh. "This move is definitely a great weapon against smashes."
Fuji's signature technique, the Giant Bear Return—one of his three counter shots.
It worked by using centrifugal force to control the racket and cancel out the power of a smash. It turned the opponent's strength against them, converting the power of their smash into power for a counterattack.
To hit it, a player had to return the ball with their back turned to it. Only a skilled player who could predict where the ball would land and had precise control could pull it off.
After a smash, most players couldn't react in time. Just like Shishido, their bodies would still be recovering from the shot when the ball landed behind them.
"Kamikawa, Kamikawa Mutsu!"
After catching his breath, Shishido looked up at the figure before him and asked, "What's that move called?!"
"That move?"
Kamikawa froze for a moment, then smiled. "It's a simple technique. I think it's called the 'Giant Bear Return'!"
Simple?!
What was simple about it?!
Even though Shishido had faced so many skilled tennis players, he'd never seen anyone his age return a smash with their back turned to the ball.
It wasn't something anyone could just do because they'd heard about it.
Shishido took a deep breath and regained his confidence. He headed to the left half of the court. It was still his service game, and he could still serve and volley. If he had to, he'd just stop going for smashes.
A shot designed to counter smashes should be easy enough to deal with.
The match continued.
The gap between them kept widening. Even when Shishido tried another serve and volley, Kamikawa returned it mercilessly, and his shots kept getting faster.
"This is over."
Facing the fierce return, Kamikawa smiled calmly, his steps steady.
Thwack!!
The instant the ball bounced, Kamikawa struck a precise forehand half-volley. The ball shot straight into Shishido's range, moving faster and faster.
"So fast..."
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Shishido's forehead. That half-volley had been nearly perfect.
This guy was nearly perfect in every way. Kamikawa Mutsu—why had Shishido never heard of him before? Where had this monster come from?
Tap... tap-tap...
Shishido reacted in time and stretched out his right arm, catching the lightning-fast half-volley.
But the moment the ball touched his racket, a tremendous force struck. The racket flew right out of his hand, while the ball landed squarely in bounds.
Shishido turned to look at his right palm, his pupils contracting.
"How?!"
Game, Kamikawa, 2–0.
Service changes!
The umpire raised a hand and called out loudly.
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