GBP Chapter 80 Do you have any misunderstandings about violent tennis?
Chapter 80 Do you have any misunderstandings about violent tennis?
The voices weren't loud, but with so many people crowded around the singles court and whispering around, the words drifted out intermittently.
Several members of Rikkai University stood next to the Hyotei students. Upon hearing these words, they opened their mouths but ultimately said nothing.
What can they say?
Kirihara does indeed have a volatile temper within the club. Almost every time the team goes out to play, you hear people from the opposing team saying similar things.
After hearing it so many times, they started to believe it themselves.
A second-year member glanced subconsciously at his wrist. Two months ago, during the regular selection tournament, his wrist had been grazed by Kirihara's knuckle serve. It was swollen for two days at the time, but it had long since healed. However, hearing their discussion, he still unconsciously touched the scar that had long since faded.
It's not that I think Kirihara intentionally hurt people.
Anyone who's been in the department for a while knows that kid is really scary when he's demonized. But he's never had any bad intentions, and it wasn't intentional.
After a practice match, they would come over to apologize, offering candy or potato chips, saying, "I'm sorry, I played too aggressively yesterday."
But even their own people will explain these things to outsiders.
But no one would believe me if I told them.
The two players on the field heard it too.
Kirihara glanced at the sidelines, his eyes showing no emotion.
He's used to it.
It's always like this in every match; his opponents are afraid of him, and so are the audience. At first, he would get angry and try to argue back, but later he realized it was useless.
The "Kirihara Akaya" that others talk about and who he actually is are two completely different things.
Forget it.
He looked away and focused his attention back on the tennis ball in his hand.
Marui heard it too, but he didn't look at the sidelines. He slowed down his chewing of gum, glancing at Kirihara's expression across the field, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
"Aka, concentrate," Marui called out, slinging his racket over his shoulder. "Ignore the sidelines."
Kirihara gave a muffled "hmm".
Just then, a voice came from the back of the crowd.
"Don't comment without knowing the whole story. Don't you even understand that simple principle?"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was very clear.
Everyone turned their heads away.
Wang Yueling emerged from the coach's bench at some point and stood on the periphery of the crowd.
His hands were in his sports jacket pockets, his posture still that of someone who lay languidly. But there was no smile in his bright blue eyes, and the corners of his mouth were flat.
The members of Hyotei who had been discussing the matter most enthusiastically fell silent instantly.
Wang Yueling took a step forward, her gaze sweeping across their faces. She spoke slowly, but every word made the air around her grow colder.
"In official tennis matches, spectators should remain quiet and speak as little as possible; this is basic etiquette. You've been in the department for so long, hasn't anyone taught you this?"
No one dared to speak.
"besides……"
He paused, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the boys who had been talking about "violent tennis." A slight smile played at the corners of his lips.
"Kirihara's knuckle serve and Devilish transformation are violent tennis?! You guys probably know nothing about real violent tennis. This is at most a body shot, and not even a very powerful one."
The non-regulars from Hyotei stood frozen in place under their gaze. The Rikkai members also took a half-inch back.
After saying that, Wang Yueling turned around and walked back to the coach's bench, leaving a group of people speechless and looking at each other in bewilderment.
Atobe sat on the coach's bench, having just received a cup of black tea from Haruno's butler, the porcelain cup still in his hand. Watching Mochizuki Ryo sit down, his voice rose slightly at the end, carrying a deliberate teasing tone:
"Uh-huh~ Are you angry?"
Wang Yueling settled into her chair, picked up her iced tea, and took a sip. "No. It's just that some people didn't understand the rules of the game, so I took the opportunity to give them a lesson on basic tennis knowledge."
Atobe moved a little closer to him, a mischievous glint in his icy blue eyes. He deliberately spoke slowly, each word ending with a slight upward inflection.
"People who don't understand the rules of tennis need to take a course."
"However, I seem to remember that someone was much noisier than these kids during the match between St. Rudolph and Seigaku."
Wang Yueling's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.
Atobe moved closer, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye twitched upwards as he narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Isn't this a case of shooting oneself in the foot?"
Wang Yueling coughed, put the cup on the table, touched the tip of her nose with her fingertip, and noticed that the tip of her ear was slightly red.
He was silent for a moment, then shrugged and obediently admitted defeat, "I really couldn't resist that time. I admit, I was wrong back then too."
Seeing his rare moment of frustration, Atobe leaned back in his chair, took a sip of black tea, and deepened the smile on his lips.
"Oh, it's rare to see you admit your mistake so readily."
"I've always been quick to admit my mistakes," Mochizuki Ryou glanced at him, a smirk playing on her lips. "And even more quick to scold people."
The two exchanged a glance and finally couldn't help but laugh. The slight stifling atmosphere from before dissipated considerably after this interruption.
The team members on the sidelines watched from afar as the two coaches chatted and laughed, and dared not approach them.
But curiosity is something that only gets more itchy the more you suppress it.
The group that had just been reprimanded were still standing there. The Rikkai members exchanged glances, then looked at the Hyotei members.
The air was still a bit stiff.
Finally, a daring student was chosen: Kenichi Ito, a second-year student at Hyotei High School. He was also the first student to challenge Ryo Mochizuki.
He crouched down and moved to the side of the coach's bench, bowed in the direction of Wang Yueling, and cleared his throat.
"Coach Dai, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have said those things during the game."
His companions also bowed. The Rikkai University members, though silent, also slightly bowed.
Wang Yueling waved her hand, her tone a little gentler than before: "Alright, if you want to watch the game, then watch it quietly."
The boys straightened up, their expressions relaxing slightly. Then, Kenichi Ito hesitated for a moment, before taking another half-step forward.
"Just now... you said that Kirihara's serve is a body shot, not a violent tennis shot."
Kenichi Ito gripped the edge of his racket, his voice a little strained, but he still managed to finish his sentence, "Could...could you explain the difference to us? We really don't understand."
The others nodded in agreement.
Wang Yueling looked up and saw the thirst for knowledge in everyone's eyes, then put down her teacup.
The other students from Rikkai and Hyotei also gathered around.
Niou had slipped back from the doubles match at some point and was now leaning against Yagyu, fiddling with his little braid. Yagyu adjusted his glasses, his gaze also falling on Mochizuki Ryo.
Even Marui, who had just returned from the court to the rest area to get a drink, turned his head and pricked up one ear, waiting to hear.
Wang Yueling glanced around and nodded.
"Perfect, this issue deserves to be explained clearly all at once."
He elegantly crossed his legs, leaned back in his chair, and pointed to Kirihara, who was warming up on the court in preparation for the next game.
"Violent tennis is common in the Kansai region."
He paused here, his tone becoming a bit more composed than before.
"Their violent style of play involves absolute brute force and hitting the ball beyond physical limits, resulting in uncontrollable ball trajectories and a tendency to injure opponents. Their playing style is insane and has no bottom line; they disregard their own and their opponents' bodies and rely on destructive force to suppress them."
Oshitari pushed up his glasses, his brow furrowing. Atobe's fingers stopped on his knee.
"To put it bluntly, it's about taking pleasure in hurting others."
With his fingers interlaced on his knees, Mochizuki Ryo said in a flat tone, "The Byodoin Phoenix of Kansai is the most typical example. And the two heroes of Kyushu, like Chitose and Senri in their early years, all followed this path. Their ball was aimed at the player, with the goal of making you completely unable to stand up, not just simply to score."
Phoenix of Byodoin.
When that name was announced, the expressions of the regular players present changed slightly.
Then Mochizuki Ryo's gaze returned to the court.
Kirihara was squatting behind the baseline, adjusting the anti-slip studs on his shoes. His black curly hair stood up in clumps, and he was focused and serious in his movements. After adjusting the soles, he stood up, switched the racket from his left hand to his right hand, and then back to his left hand, and swung it a couple of times in the air.
There was no ferocity or gloom in those eyes, only pure earnestness.
"Kirihara's tennis style is completely different from the Kansai school."
Wang Yueling softened her voice a little, but every word still landed clearly in the ears of everyone present.
"He never intentionally hurts anyone, nor does he use destructive brute force to hit the ball. You can see his ball trajectories; every shot has a precise landing point, with skill and logic, not just random, brute force."
"His goal has always been clear: to win, not to injure anyone."
"That's the essential difference."
"Watch Kirihara's serve."
When Kirihara used his knuckle serve again, Mochizuki Ryo spoke up, "The scoring logic of this move is very simple. He first hits the ball at a tricky angle, making it difficult for the opponent to return. He disrupts the opponent's prediction by making the ball move unpredictably. Finally, he uses the ball to block the opponent's body position, limiting the opponent's swing space."
Niou fiddled with his braid, lost in thought, and drawled out, "Puri, so Akaya uses the placement of his shots to force his opponent into a positioning error, and then seizes the opportunity when the opponent's return quality drops to attack. That kid is definitely quick-witted."
Listening to Renou's summary, Mochizuki Ryo nodded, "That's right. He relied on psychological pressure and skillful suppression, not on the violent force of the ball."
At this moment on the court, Kirihara's serve, with sidespin, flew to Marui's side. Marui turned aside and smashed the ball with his racket.
Kirihara rushed to the net, his center of gravity extremely low, and flicked the racket upwards. The shot went too high.
Marui leaped into the air, lightly touching the ball with his racket, and hit a short shot. Kirihara lunged forward and touched the ball, but the angle was too off, and his return shot grazed the net.
"Marui, 30 to 0."
Wang Yueling leaned back in her chair and continued, "As for demonization..."
He paused for a moment, thinking about Kirihara's changes over the past few days, and the corners of his lips curved slightly. "That's not some kind of psychological darkening, it's just mild high blood pressure inherited from Kirihara's family."
"High-intensity exercise and competitive pressure can cause blood pressure to spike instantly, physiologically, not because he intentionally wanted to hurt anyone. In addition, that child has weak emotional control, and when his blood pressure rises, his rationality is overwhelmed."
"However, he's been taking care of himself recently, and he should be much better in the future."
The surroundings became quiet.